4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, 4 and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. 5
1 sn With one mind. Compare Acts 1:14.
2 tn Or “Lord of all.”
sn The use of the title Master of all (δεσπότης, despoths) emphasizes that there is a sovereign God who is directing what is taking place.
3 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.
4 tn Grk “soul.”
5 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.
6 tn Grk “you have done well by coming.” The idiom καλῶς ποιεῖν (kalw" poiein) is translated “be kind enough to do someth.” by BDAG 505-6 s.v. καλῶς 4.a. The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as an English infinitive due to the nature of the English idiom (“kind enough to” + infinitive).
7 tn The translation “we are here in the presence of God” for ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ πάρεσμεν (enwpion tou qeou paresmen) is given by BDAG 773 s.v. πάρειμι 1.a.
8 tn Or “to hear everything.”
9 tn The words “to say to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Cornelius knows Peter is God’s representative, bringing God’s message.
10 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.
11 tn Or “delivered.”
12 sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.
13 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
14 sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 sn The expression raised up refers here to making someone king. There is a wordplay here: “raising up” refers to bringing someone onto the scene of history, but it echoes with the parallel to Jesus’ resurrection.
17 tn Grk “about whom.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” 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. The verb εἶπεν (eipen) has not been translated (literally “he said testifying”) because it is redundant when combined with the participle μαρτυρήσας (marturhsa", “testifying”). Instead the construction of verb plus participle has been translated as a single English verb (“testified”).
18 sn A quotation from Ps 89:20.
19 sn A quotation from 1 Sam 13:14.
20 tn Or “who will perform all my will,” “who will carry out all my wishes.”
21 tn Grk “So I said.”
22 tn Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.
23 tn Grk “about all things.”
24 tn Or “assigned,” “ordered.” BDAG 991 s.v. τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by acc. w. inf.…περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι concerning everything that you have been ordered to do 22:10.” There is an allusion to a divine call and commission here.
25 tn Or “serve.”
26 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
27 sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.