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James 4-5
New English Translation

Passions and Pride

4 Where do the conflicts and where[a] do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this,[b] from your passions that battle inside you?[c] 2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; 3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God?[d] So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. 5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says,[e] “The spirit that God[f] caused[g] to live within us has an envious yearning”?[h] 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”[i] 7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.[j] 9 Grieve, mourn,[k] and weep. Turn your laughter[l] into mourning and your joy into despair. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters.[m] He who speaks against a fellow believer[n] or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.[o] 12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge—the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?[p]

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town[q] and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You[r] do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like?[s] For you are a puff of smoke[t] that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15 You ought to say instead,[u] “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is,[v] you boast about your arrogant plans.[w] All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows what is good to do[x] and does not do it is guilty of sin.[y]

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[z] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure![aa] 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[ab] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[ac] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[ad]

Patience in Suffering

7 So be patient, brothers and sisters,[ae] until the Lord’s return.[af] Think of how the farmer waits[ag] for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient[ah] for it until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters,[ai] so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates![aj] 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters,[ak] take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 11 Think of how we regard[al] as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.[am] 12 And above all, my brothers and sisters,[an] do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

Prayer for the Sick

13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint[ao] him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.[ap] 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.[aq] 17 Elijah was a human being[ar] like us, and he prayed earnestly[as] that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 18 Then[at] he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

19 My brothers and sisters,[au] if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path[av] will save that person’s[aw] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Footnotes

  1. James 4:1 tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.
  2. James 4:1 tn Grk “from here.”
  3. James 4:1 tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”
  4. James 4:4 tn Grk “is hostility toward God.”
  5. James 4:5 tn Grk “vainly says.”
  6. James 4:5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. James 4:5 tc The Byzantine text and a few other mss (P 5 33 436 442 1243 1611 1735 1852 2344 2492 M) have the intransitive κατῴκησεν (katōkēsen) here, which turns τὸ πνεῦμα (to pneuma) into the subject of the verb: “The spirit which lives within us.” But the more reliable and older witnesses (P74 א B Ψ 049 1241 1739 al) have the causative verb, κατῴκισεν (katōkisen), which implies a different subject and τὸ πνεῦμα as the object: “The spirit that he causes to live within us.” Both because of the absence of an explicit subject and the relative scarcity of the causative κατοικίζω (katoikizō, “cause to dwell”) compared to the intransitive κατοικέω (katoikeō, “live, dwell”) in biblical Greek (κατοικίζω does not occur in the NT at all, and occurs much less frequently than κατοικέω in the LXX), it is easy to see why scribes would replace κατῴκισεν with κατῴκησεν. Thus, on internal and external grounds, κατῴκισεν is the preferred reading.
  8. James 4:5 tn Interpreters debate the referent of the word “spirit” in this verse: (1) The translation takes “spirit” to be the lustful capacity within people that produces a divided mind (1:8, 14) and inward conflicts regarding God (4:1-4). God has allowed it to be in man since the fall, and he provides his grace (v. 6) and the new birth through the gospel message (1:18-25) to counteract its evil effects. (2) On the other hand the word “spirit” may be taken positively as the Holy Spirit and the sense would be, “God yearns jealously for the Spirit he caused to live within us.” But the word for “envious” or “jealous” is generally negative in biblical usage and the context before and after seems to favor the negative interpretation.sn No OT verse is worded exactly this way. This is either a statement about the general teaching of scripture or a quotation from an ancient translation of the Hebrew text that no longer exists today.
  9. James 4:6 sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.
  10. James 4:8 tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).
  11. James 4:9 tn This term and the following one are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.
  12. James 4:9 tn Grk “let your laughter be turned.”
  13. James 4:11 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  14. James 4:11 tn See note on the word “believer” in 1:9.
  15. James 4:11 tn Grk “a judge.”
  16. James 4:12 tn Grk “who judges your neighbor.”
  17. James 4:13 tn Or “city.”
  18. James 4:14 tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  19. James 4:14 tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”
  20. James 4:14 tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).
  21. James 4:15 tn Grk “instead of your saying.”
  22. James 4:16 tn Grk “but now.”
  23. James 4:16 tn Or “you boast in your arrogance.” The translation in the text is based on two points: (1) The verb καυχάομαι (kauchaomai, “boast”) often uses the preposition ἐν (en) to indicate the focus of the boast (see BDAG 536 s.v. 1). (2) ἀλαζονεία (alazoneia, “arrogance”) here is plural and likely refers to the specific plans mentioned in v. 13.
  24. James 4:17 tn Or “knows how to do what is good.”
  25. James 4:17 tn Grk “to him it is sin.”
  26. James 5:1 tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”
  27. James 5:3 tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”
  28. James 5:4 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
  29. James 5:5 sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).
  30. James 5:6 tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”
  31. James 5:7 tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  32. James 5:7 tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).
  33. James 5:7 tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”
  34. James 5:7 tn Grk “being patient.”
  35. James 5:9 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  36. James 5:9 sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.
  37. James 5:10 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  38. James 5:11 tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”
  39. James 5:11 sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Pss 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.
  40. James 5:12 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  41. James 5:14 tn Grk “anointing.”
  42. James 5:15 tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”
  43. James 5:16 tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”
  44. James 5:17 tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.
  45. James 5:17 tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).
  46. James 5:18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events.
  47. James 5:19 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  48. James 5:20 tn Grk “from the error of his way” (using the same root as the verb “to wander, to err” in the first part of the verse).
  49. James 5:20 tn Grk “his soul”; the referent (the sinner mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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Acts 11:19-12:25
New English Translation

Activity in the Church at Antioch

19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen[a] went as far as[b] Phoenicia,[c] Cyprus,[d] and Antioch,[e] speaking the message[f] to no one but Jews. 20 But there were some men from Cyprus[g] and Cyrene[h] among them who came[i] to Antioch[j] and began to speak to the Greeks[k] too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The[l] hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed[m] turned[n] to the Lord. 22 A report[o] about them came to the attention[p] of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas[q] to Antioch.[r] 23 When[s] he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true[t] to the Lord with devoted hearts,[u] 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people[v] were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.[w] So[x] for a whole year Barnabas and Saul[y] met with the church and taught a significant number of people.[z] Now it was in Antioch[aa] that the disciples were first called Christians.[ab]

Famine Relief for Judea

27 At that time[ac] some[ad] prophets[ae] came down[af] from Jerusalem to Antioch.[ag] 28 One of them, named Agabus, got up[ah] and predicted[ai] by the Spirit that a severe[aj] famine[ak] was about to come over the whole inhabited world.[al] (This[am] took place during the reign of Claudius.)[an] 29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability,[ao] decided[ap] to send relief[aq] to the brothers living in Judea. 30 They did so,[ar] sending their financial aid[as] to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12 About that time King Herod[at] laid hands on[au] some from the church to harm them.[av] 2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.[aw] 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews,[ax] he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.)[ay] 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads[az] of soldiers to guard him. Herod[ba] planned[bb] to bring him out for public trial[bc] after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly[bd] praying to God for him.[be] 6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial,[bf] Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while[bg] guards in front of the door were keeping watch[bh] over the prison. 7 Suddenly[bi] an angel of the Lord[bj] appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck[bk] Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s[bl] wrists.[bm] 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt[bn] and put on your sandals.” Peter[bo] did so. Then the angel[bp] said to him, “Put on your cloak[bq] and follow me.” 9 Peter[br] went out[bs] and followed him;[bt] he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real,[bu] but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and second guards,[bv] they came to the iron[bw] gate leading into the city. It[bx] opened for them by itself,[by] and they went outside and walked down one narrow street,[bz] when at once the angel left him. 11 When[ca] Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued[cb] me from the hand[cc] of Herod[cd] and from everything the Jewish people[ce] were expecting to happen.”

12 When Peter[cf] realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,[cg] where many people had gathered together and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered.[ch] 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told[ci] them[cj] that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!”[ck] But she kept insisting that it was Peter,[cl] and they kept saying,[cm] “It is his angel!”[cn] 16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door[co] and saw him, they were greatly astonished.[cp] 17 He motioned to them[cq] with his hand to be quiet and then related[cr] how the Lord had brought[cs] him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place.[ct]

18 At daybreak[cu] there was great consternation[cv] among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 When Herod[cw] had searched[cx] for him and did not find him, he questioned[cy] the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution.[cz] Then[da] Herod[db] went down from Judea to Caesarea[dc] and stayed there.

20 Now Herod[dd] was having an angry quarrel[de] with the people of Tyre[df] and Sidon.[dg] So they joined together[dh] and presented themselves before him. And after convincing[di] Blastus, the king’s personal assistant,[dj] to help them,[dk] they asked for peace,[dl] because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country. 21 On a day determined in advance, Herod[dm] put on his royal robes,[dn] sat down on the judgment seat,[do] and made a speech[dp] to them. 22 But the crowd[dq] began to shout,[dr] “The voice of a god,[ds] and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord[dt] struck[du] Herod[dv] down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.[dw] 24 But the word of God[dx] kept on increasing[dy] and multiplying.

25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to[dz] Jerusalem[ea] when they had completed[eb] their mission,[ec] bringing along with them John Mark.[ed]

Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:19 sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.
  2. Acts 11:19 tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (diēlthon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.
  3. Acts 11:19 sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
  4. Acts 11:19 tn Grk “and Cyprus,” 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.sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
  5. Acts 11:19 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.
  6. Acts 11:19 tn Grk “word.”
  7. Acts 11:20 sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
  8. Acts 11:20 sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.
  9. Acts 11:20 tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  10. Acts 11:20 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  11. Acts 11:20 sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene…began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.
  12. Acts 11:21 tn Grk “And the.” 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.
  13. Acts 11:21 tn The participle πιστεύσας (pisteusas) is articular and thus cannot be adverbial. It is adjectival, modifying ἀριθμός (arithmos), but has been translated into English as a relative clause (“who believed”).
  14. Acts 11:21 sn Again, the expression turned is a summary term for responding to the gospel.
  15. Acts 11:22 tn Grk “Word.”
  16. Acts 11:22 tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.
  17. Acts 11:22 tc ‡ Most mss read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielthein) is found before ἕως (heōs) in D E Ψ 33 M and some versional mss. It is lacking in P74 א A B 81 1739 and some versional mss. Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be autographic. NA28 has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
  18. Acts 11:22 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.
  19. Acts 11:23 tn Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
  20. Acts 11:23 tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse.sn He…encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord. The call to faithfulness is frequent in Acts (2:40; 14:22; 15:32; 16:39; 20:1-2).
  21. Acts 11:23 tn Grk “with purpose of heart”; BDAG 869 s.v. πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.
  22. Acts 11:24 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
  23. Acts 11:26 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  24. Acts 11:26 tn Grk “So it happened that” 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.
  25. Acts 11:26 tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. Acts 11:26 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
  27. Acts 11:26 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  28. Acts 11:26 sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.
  29. Acts 11:27 tn Grk “In these days,” but the dative generally indicates a specific time.
  30. Acts 11:27 tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text, but is usually used in English when an unspecified number is mentioned.
  31. Acts 11:27 sn Prophets are mentioned only here and in 13:1 and 21:10 in Acts.
  32. Acts 11:27 sn Came down from Jerusalem. Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude).
  33. Acts 11:27 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  34. Acts 11:28 tn Grk “getting up, predicted.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  35. Acts 11:28 tn Or “made clear”; Grk “indicated beforehand” (BDAG 920 s.v. σημαίνω 2).
  36. Acts 11:28 tn Grk “great.”
  37. Acts 11:28 sn This famine is one of the firmly fixed dates in Acts. It took place from a.d. 45-48. The events described in chap. 11 of Acts occurred during the early part of that period.
  38. Acts 11:28 tn Or “whole Roman Empire.” While the word οἰκουμένη (oikoumenē) does occasionally refer specifically to the Roman Empire, BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουνένη 2 does not list this passage (only Acts 24:5 and 17:6).
  39. Acts 11:28 tn Grk “world, which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the demonstrative pronoun “this” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
  40. Acts 11:28 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Claudius was the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from a.d. 41-54.
  41. Acts 11:29 tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.
  42. Acts 11:29 tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”
  43. Acts 11:29 tn Grk “to send [something] for a ministry,” but today it is common to speak of sending relief for victims of natural disasters.sn The financial relief reflects the oneness of the church, meeting the needs of another (even racially distinct) community. Jerusalem, having ministered to them, now received ministry back. A later collection from Greece is noted in Rom 15:25-27, but it reflects the same spirit as this gift.
  44. Acts 11:30 tn Grk “Judea, which they did.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
  45. Acts 11:30 tn The words “their financial aid” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
  46. Acts 12:1 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great). His mediocre career is summarized in Josephus, Ant. 18-19. This event took place in a.d. 42 or 43.
  47. Acts 12:1 tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”
  48. Acts 12:1 tn Or “to cause them injury.”
  49. Acts 12:2 sn The expression executed with a sword probably refers to a beheading. James was the first known apostolic martyr (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1-3). On James, not the Lord’s brother, see Luke 5:10; 6:14. This death ended a short period of peace noted in Acts 9:31 after the persecution mentioned in 8:1-3.
  50. Acts 12:3 tn This could be a reference to the Jewish people (so CEV) or to the Jewish leaders (so NLT). The statement in v. 4 that Herod intended to bring Peter “out to the people” (i.e., for a public trial) may suggest the former is somewhat more likely.
  51. Acts 12:3 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  52. Acts 12:4 sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.
  53. Acts 12:4 tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomenos) and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).
  54. Acts 12:4 tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”
  55. Acts 12:4 tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”
  56. Acts 12:5 tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.
  57. Acts 12:5 tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.
  58. Acts 12:6 tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.
  59. Acts 12:6 tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.
  60. Acts 12:6 tn Or “were guarding.”
  61. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “And behold.” 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. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.
  62. Acts 12:7 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.
  63. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  64. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  65. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.
  66. Acts 12:8 tn While ζώννυμι (zōnnumi) sometimes means “to dress,” referring to the fastening of the belt or sash as the final act of getting dressed, in this context it probably does mean “put on your belt” since in the conditions of a prison Peter had probably not changed into a different set of clothes to sleep. More likely he had merely removed his belt or sash, which the angel now told him to replace. The translation “put on your belt” is given by L&N 49.14 for this verse. The archaic English “girdle” for the sash or belt has an entirely different meaning today.
  67. Acts 12:8 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  68. Acts 12:8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  69. Acts 12:8 tn Or “outer garment.”
  70. Acts 12:9 tn Grk “And going out he followed.”
  71. Acts 12:9 tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  72. Acts 12:9 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
  73. Acts 12:9 tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).
  74. Acts 12:10 tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”
  75. Acts 12:10 sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).
  76. Acts 12:10 tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
  77. Acts 12:10 tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automatē), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).
  78. Acts 12:10 tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).
  79. Acts 12:11 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.
  80. Acts 12:11 tn Or “delivered.”
  81. Acts 12:11 sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.
  82. Acts 12:11 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
  83. Acts 12:11 sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).
  84. Acts 12:12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  85. Acts 12:12 tn Grk “John who was also called Mark.”sn John Mark becomes a key figure in Acts 12:25; 13:5, 13; 15:37-39.
  86. Acts 12:13 tn Or “responded.”
  87. Acts 12:14 tn Or “informed.”
  88. Acts 12:14 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
  89. Acts 12:15 sn “You’ve lost your mind!” Such a response to the miraculous is not unusual in Luke-Acts. See Luke 24:11; Acts 26:25. The term μαίνομαι (mainomai) can have the idea of being “raving mad” or “totally irrational” (BDAG 610 s.v.). It is a strong expression.
  90. Acts 12:15 tn Grk “she kept insisting that the situation was thus” (cf. BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a). Most translations supply a less awkward English phrase like “it was so”; the force of her insistence, however, is that “it was Peter,” which was the point under dispute.
  91. Acts 12:15 tn The two imperfect tense verbs, διϊσχυρίζετο (diischurizeto) and ἔλεγον (elegon), are both taken iteratively. The picture is thus virtually a shouting match between Rhoda and the rest of the believers.
  92. Acts 12:15 sn The assumption made by those inside, “It is his angel,” seems to allude to the idea of an attending angel (cf. Gen 48:16 LXX; Matt 18:10; Test. Jacob 1:10).
  93. Acts 12:16 tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see Acts 12:13).
  94. Acts 12:16 sn That they were greatly astonished is a common response in Luke-Acts to God’s work (Luke 8:56; Acts 2:7, 12; 8:13; 9:21; 10:45).
  95. Acts 12:17 tn Or “He gave them a signal.” Grk “Giving them a signal…he related to them.” The participle κατασείσας (kataseisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  96. Acts 12:17 tc ‡ Most mss, including some of the most important ones (B D E Ψ M sy), read αὐτοῖς (autois, “to them”) here, while some excellent and early witnesses (P45vid,74vid א A 33 81 945 1739) lack the pronoun. Although it is possible that the pronoun was deleted because it was seen as superfluous, it is also possible that it was added as a natural expansion on the text, strengthening the connection between Peter and his listeners. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA28 puts the pronoun in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
  97. Acts 12:17 tn Or “led.”
  98. Acts 12:17 sn He…went to another place. This is Peter’s last appearance in Acts with the exception of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.
  99. Acts 12:18 tn BDAG 436 s.v. ἡμέρα 1.a has “day is breaking” for ἡμέρα γίνεται (hēmera ginetai) in this verse.
  100. Acts 12:18 tn Grk “no little consternation.” The translation given for τάραχος (tarachos) in this verse by BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 1 is “mental agitation.” The situation indicated by the Greek word is described in L&N 25.243 as “a state of acute distress and great anxiety, with the additional possible implications of dismay and confusion—‘great distress, extreme anxiety.’” The English word “consternation” is preferred here because it conveys precisely such a situation of anxiety mixed with fear. The reason for this anxiety is explained in the following verse.
  101. Acts 12:19 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
  102. Acts 12:19 tn Or “had instigated a search” (Herod would have ordered the search rather than conducting it himself).
  103. Acts 12:19 tn “Questioned” is used to translate ἀνακρίνας (anakrinas) here because a possible translation offered by BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω for this verse is “examined,” which could be understood to mean Herod inspected the guards rather than questioned them. The translation used by the NIV, “cross-examined,” also avoids this possible misunderstanding.
  104. Acts 12:19 tn The meaning “led away to execution” for ἀπαχθῆναι (apachthēnai) in this verse is given by BDAG 95 s.v. ἀπάγω 2.c. Although an explicit reference to execution is lacking here, it is what would usually occur in such a case (Acts 16:27; 27:42; Code of Justinian 9.4.4). “Led away to torture” is a less likely option (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10, 96, 8).
  105. Acts 12:19 tn Grk “and,” but the sequence of events is better expressed in English by “then.” A new sentence is begun in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek, which exceeds normal English sentence length.
  106. Acts 12:19 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Since Herod has been the subject of the preceding material, and the circumstances of his death are the subject of the following verses (20-23), it is best to understand Herod as the subject here. This is especially true since according to Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 [19.343-352], Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in a.d. 44, and vv. 20-23 here describe his death. Thus the end of v. 19 provides Luke’s transition to explain how Herod got from Jerusalem to Caesarea where he died. In spite of all this evidence, the NRSV translates this phrase “Then Peter went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there,” understanding the referent to be Peter rather than Herod Agrippa I.sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great), who died at Caesarea in a.d. 44 according to Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 [19.343-352].
  107. Acts 12:19 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
  108. Acts 12:20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
  109. Acts 12:20 tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).
  110. Acts 12:20 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
  111. Acts 12:20 sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).
  112. Acts 12:20 tn Or “with one accord.”
  113. Acts 12:20 tn Or “persuading.”
  114. Acts 12:20 tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.
  115. Acts 12:20 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  116. Acts 12:20 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.
  117. Acts 12:21 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
  118. Acts 12:21 tn Or “apparel.” On Herod’s robes see Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.344), summarized in the note at the end of v. 23.
  119. Acts 12:21 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “speaker’s platform” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“rostrum,” NASB; “platform,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bēma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.
  120. Acts 12:21 tn Or “delivered a public address.”
  121. Acts 12:22 tn The translation “crowd” is given by BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος; the word often means a gathering of citizens to conduct public business. Here it is simply the group of people gathered to hear the king’s speech.
  122. Acts 12:22 tn The imperfect verb ἐπεφώνει (epephōnei) is taken ingressively in the sequence of events. Presumably the king had started his speech when the crowd began shouting.
  123. Acts 12:22 sn The voice of a god. Contrast the response of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:13-15.
  124. Acts 12:23 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.
  125. Acts 12:23 sn On being struck…down by an angel, see Acts 23:3; 1 Sam 25:38; 2 Sam 12:15; 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 13:20; 2 Macc 9:5.
  126. Acts 12:23 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  127. Acts 12:23 sn He was eaten by worms and died. Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.343-352), states that Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in a.d. 44. The account by Josephus, while not identical to Luke’s account, is similar in many respects: On the second day of a festival, Herod Agrippa appeared in the theater with a robe made of silver. When it sparkled in the sun, the people cried out flatteries and declared him to be a god. The king, carried away by the flattery, saw an owl (an omen of death) sitting on a nearby rope, and immediately was struck with severe stomach pains. He was carried off to his house and died five days later. The two accounts can be reconciled without difficulty, since while Luke states that Herod was immediately struck down by an angel, his death could have come several days later. The mention of worms with death adds a humiliating note to the scene. The formerly powerful ruler had been thoroughly reduced to nothing (cf. Jdt 16:17; 2 Macc 9:9; cf. also Josephus, Ant. 17.6.5 [17.168-170], which details the sickness which led to Herod the Great’s death).
  128. Acts 12:24 sn A metonymy for the number of adherents to God’s word.
  129. Acts 12:24 tn Or “spreading.”
  130. Acts 12:25 tc There are a number of variants at this point in the text: εἰς (eis, “to”) in א B M sams syhmg; ἀπό (apo, “from”) in D E Ψ 36 323 453 614 1175 al; ἐξ (ex, “from”) in P74 A 33 945 1739 al; ἐξ ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν (ex Ierousalēm eis Antiocheian, “from Jerusalem to Antioch”) in a few later manuscripts and part of the Itala. A decision on this problem is very difficult, but for several reasons εἰς can be preferred. It is the most difficult reading by far in light of the context, since Paul and Barnabas were going to Jerusalem in 11:30. It is found in better witnesses, א and B being very strong evidence. The other readings, ἐξ and ἀπό, are different from εἰς yet bear essentially the same meaning as each other; this seems to suggest that scribes had problems with εἰς and tried to choose an acceptable revision. If εἰς is the earliest reading, ἀπό may be a clarification of ἐξ, and ἐξ could have arisen through confusion of letters. Or ἐξ and ἀπό could both have independently arisen from εἰς as a more acceptable preposition. Despite such arguments, however, the case for εἰς is not airtight: either ἐξ or ἀπό could be preferred on other lines of reasoning. The reading ἐξ enjoys the earliest support, and εἰς could have arisen through the same confusion of letters mentioned above. The immediate and wider context seems to mitigate against εἰς as the original reading: The aorist participle πληρώσαντες (plērōsantes, “when they had completed”) seems to signal the end of the mission to Jerusalem with the famine relief, so it would make sense in the context for the team to be coming from Jerusalem (to Antioch) rather than to Jerusalem, and 13:1 certainly presents the scene at Antioch. The later addition εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν after ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ in some mss seems to be a clarification in light of 13:1 (notice that some of the mss that read ἐξ add εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν [945 1739], and some that read ἀπό also add εἰς ᾿Αντιόχειαν [E 323 1175]). Thus, the idea of spatial separation from Jerusalem is strongly implied by the context. This problem is so difficult that some scholars resort to conjectural emendation to determine the original reading. All in all, the reading εἰς should be preferred as that of the initial text, recognizing that there is a good measure of uncertainty with this solution. For additional discussion, see TCGNT 350-52.
  131. Acts 12:25 sn That is, from Jerusalem to Antioch (see Acts 11:29-30).
  132. Acts 12:25 tn Grk “fulfilled.”
  133. Acts 12:25 tn Grk “ministry” or “service.”
  134. Acts 12:25 tn Grk “John who was also called Mark.”
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