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Acts 4:1-22
New Living Translation

Peter and John before the Council

4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. 2 These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. 3 They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. 4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

5 The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. 7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9 are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.’[b]

12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. 15 So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber[c] and conferred among themselves.

16 “What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:10 Or Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
  2. 4:11 Ps 118:22.
  3. 4:15 Greek the Sanhedrin.
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Acts 4:1-22
New English Translation

The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John

4 While Peter and John[a] were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander[b] of the temple guard[c] and the Sadducees[d] came up[e] to them, 2 angry[f] because they were teaching the people and announcing[g] in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 So[h] they seized[i] them and put them in jail[j] until the next day (for it was already evening). 4 But many of those who had listened to[k] the message[l] believed, and the number of the men[m] came to about 5,000.

5 On the next day,[n] their rulers, elders, and experts in the law[o] came together[p] in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family.[q] 7 After[r] making Peter and John[s] stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name[t] did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,[u] replied,[v] “Rulers of the people and elders,[w] 9 if[x] we are being examined[y] today for a good deed[z] done to a sick man—by what means this man was healed[aa]— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ[ab] the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 11 This Jesus[ac] is the stone that was rejected by you,[ad] the builders, that has become the cornerstone.[ae] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people[af] by which we must[ag] be saved.”

13 When they saw the boldness[ah] of Peter and John, and discovered[ai] that they were uneducated[aj] and ordinary[ak] men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this.[al] 15 But when they had ordered them to go outside the council,[am] they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain[an] to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign[ao] has come about through them,[ap] and we cannot deny it. 17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more[aq] to anyone in this name.” 18 And they called them in and ordered[ar] them not to speak or teach at all in the name[as] of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied,[at] “Whether it is right before God to obey[au] you rather than God, you decide, 20 for it is impossible[av] for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” 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[aw] God for what had happened. 22 For the man, on whom this miraculous sign[ax] of healing had been performed,[ay] was over forty years old.

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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.”
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