Discovery BoxActs 2:3 
Context2:3 And tongues spreading out like a fire 1 appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them.
Acts 4:35
Context4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds 2 were distributed to each, as anyone had need.
Acts 11:29
Context11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, 3 decided 4 to send relief 5 to the brothers living in Judea.
1 tn Or “And divided tongues as of fire.” The precise meaning of διαμερίζομαι (diamerizomai) in Acts 2:3 is difficult to determine. The meaning could be “tongues as of fire dividing up one to each person,” but it is also possible that the individual tongues of fire were divided (“And divided tongues as of fire appeared”). The translation adopted in the text (“tongues spreading out like a fire”) attempts to be somewhat ambiguous.
2 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.
3 tn So BDAG 410 s.v. εὐπορέω.
4 tn Or “determined,” “resolved.”
5 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.
