Acts 5:19

5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord ¹  opened ²  the doors of the prison, ³  led them out, ⁴  and said,

Acts 5:22

5:22 But the officers ⁵  who came for them ⁶  did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, ⁷ 

Acts 12:5

12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly ⁸  praying to God for him. ⁹ 

Acts 16:23

16:23 After they had beaten them severely, ¹⁰  they threw them into prison and commanded ¹¹  the jailer to guard them securely.

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¹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

² tn Grk “opening the doors of the prison.” The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.

³ tn Greek φυλακῆς (fulakh"), a different word from the one in v. 18 (τήρησις, thrhsi", “jail”).

⁴ tn Or “brought them out.” Grk “and leading them out, said.” The participle ἐξαγαγών (exagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

sn Led them out. The action by God served to vindicate the apostles. It showed that whatever court the Jewish leaders represented, they did not represent God.

⁵ tn The Greek term ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") generally means “servant,” but in the NT is used for many different types of servants, like attendants to a king, the officers of the Sanhedrin (as here), assistants to magistrates, and (especially in the Gospel of John) Jewish guards in the Jerusalem temple (see L&N 35.20).

⁶ tn The words “for them” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

⁷ tn Grk “reported, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

⁸ tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn Grk “Having inflicted many blows on them.” The participle ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") has been taken temporally. BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.a.β has “inflict blows upon someone” for this expression, but in this context it is simpler to translate in English as “they had beaten them severely.”

¹¹ tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.