Discovery BoxActs 4:24-28 
Context4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind 1 and said, “Master of all, 2 you who made the heaven, the earth, 3 the sea, and everything that is in them, 4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through 4 your servant David our forefather, 5
and the peoples plot foolish 8 things?
4:26 The kings of the earth stood together, 9
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his 10 Christ.’ 11
4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against 12 your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 13 4:28 to do as much as your power 14 and your plan 15 had decided beforehand 16 would happen.
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 “by the mouth of” (an idiom).
5 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
6 tn Or “Gentiles.”
7 sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.
8 tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”
9 tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”
10 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.
11 sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.
12 sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.
13 sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”
14 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
15 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
16 tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.
