Footnotes

1. Acts 4:1 tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
2. Acts 4:1 tn Or “captain.”
3. Acts 4:1 tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.sn The commander of the temple guard was the title of the officer commanding the Jewish soldiers responsible for guarding and keeping order in the temple courts in Jerusalem.
4. Acts 4:1 sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.
5. Acts 4:1 tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).
6. Acts 4:2 tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”
7. Acts 4:2 tn Or “proclaiming.”
8. Acts 4:3 tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the logical sequence of events.
9. Acts 4:3 tn Or “they arrested”; Grk “they laid hands on.”
10. Acts 4:3 tn Or “prison,” “custody.”
11. Acts 4:4 tn Or “had heard.”
12. Acts 4:4 tn Or “word.”
13. Acts 4:4 tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anēr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.
14. Acts 4:5 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.
15. Acts 4:5 tn Or “and scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateus) 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.sn Experts in the law would have been mostly like the Pharisees in approach. Thus various sects of Judaism were coming together against Jesus.
16. Acts 4:5 tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”
17. Acts 4:6 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).
18. Acts 4:7 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.
19. Acts 4:7 tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
20. Acts 4:7 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?
21. Acts 4:8 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).
22. Acts 4:8 tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”
23. Acts 4:8 tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian witnesses, read τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (tou Israēl, “of Israel”) after πρεσβύτεροι (presbuteroi, “elders”; so D E Ψ 33 1739 M it), while most of the better witnesses, chiefly Alexandrian (P⁷⁴ 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.
24. Acts 4:9 tn This clause is a first class condition. It assumes for the sake of argument that this is what they were being questioned about.
25. Acts 4:9 tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinō) points to an examination similar to a legal one.
26. Acts 4:9 tn Or “for an act of kindness.”
27. Acts 4:9 tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [sesōtai], from σώζω [sōzō]). See 4:12.
28. Acts 4:10 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
29. Acts 4:11 tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30. Acts 4:11 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.
31. Acts 4:11 sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.
32. Acts 4:12 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
33. Acts 4:12 sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.
34. Acts 4:13 tn Or “courage.”
35. Acts 4:13 tn Or “and found out.”
36. Acts 4:13 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.
37. Acts 4:13 tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiōtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.
38. Acts 4:14 tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”
39. Acts 4:15 tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
40. Acts 4:16 tn Or “evident.”
41. Acts 4:16 tn Here σημεῖον (sēmeion) 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.
42. Acts 4:16 tn Or “has been done by them.”
43. Acts 4:17 tn Or “speak no longer.”
44. Acts 4:18 tn Or “commanded.”
45. Acts 4:18 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.
46. Acts 4:19 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
47. Acts 4:19 tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouō; see L&N 36.14).
48. Acts 4:20 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.
49. Acts 4:21 tn Or “glorifying.”
50. Acts 4:22 tn Here σημεῖον (sēmeion) 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.
51. Acts 4:22 tn Or “had been done.”
52. Acts 4:23 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity, since a new topic begins in v. 23 and the last specific reference to Peter and John in the Greek text is in 4:19.
53. Acts 4:23 tn Grk “to their own [people].” In context this phrase is most likely a reference to other believers rather than simply their own families and/or homes, since the group appears to act with one accord in the prayer that follows in v. 24. At the literary level, this phrase suggests how Jews were now splitting into two camps, pro-Jesus and anti-Jesus.
54. Acts 4:24 sn With one mind. Cf. Acts 1:14.
55. Acts 4:24 tn Or “Lord of all.”sn The use of the title Master of all (δεσπότης, despotēs) emphasizes that there is a sovereign God who is directing what is taking place.
56. Acts 4:24 tn Grk “and the earth, and the sea,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before “the earth” and “the sea” since contemporary English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
57. Acts 4:25 tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).
58. Acts 4:25 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
59. Acts 4:25 tn Or “Gentiles.”
60. Acts 4:25 sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.
61. Acts 4:25 tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”
62. Acts 4:26 tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”
63. Acts 4:26 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.
64. Acts 4:26 sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.
65. Acts 4:27 sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.
66. Acts 4:27 sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”
67. Acts 4:28 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
68. Acts 4:28 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
69. Acts 4:28 tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.
70. Acts 4:29 tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”
71. Acts 4:29 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.
72. Acts 4:29 tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.
73. Acts 4:29 tn Grk “word.”
74. Acts 4:29 tn Or “with all boldness.”
75. Acts 4:30 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.
76. Acts 4:31 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.
77. Acts 4:31 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.
78. Acts 4:31 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.
79. Acts 4:31 tn Or “speak God’s message.”
80. Acts 4:31 tn Or “with boldness.”
81. Acts 4:32 tn Grk “soul.”
82. Acts 4:32 tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”sn Everything was held in common. The remark is not a reflection of political philosophy, but of the extent of their spontaneous commitment to one another. Such a response does not have the function of a command, but is reflective of an attitude that Luke commends as evidence of their identification with one another.
83. Acts 4:33 tn Grk “And with.” 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.
84. Acts 4:33 tn Or “were witnessing.”
85. Acts 4:34 tn Or “poor.”
86. Acts 4:34 tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pōlountes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
87. Acts 4:34 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
88. Acts 4:35 tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
89. Acts 4:36 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Note how the actions of Barnabas are in keeping with the meaning of his nickname. He stands in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira in 5:1-11.
90. Acts 4:37 tn Grk “selling a field that belonged to him, brought” The participle πωλήσας (pōlēsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
91. Acts 4:37 tn Or “a farm.”
92. Acts 4:37 tn Normally a reference to actual coins (“currency”). See L&N 6.68.