Discovery BoxActs 4:1-31 
Context4:1 While Peter and John 1 were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander 2 of the temple guard 3 and the Sadducees 4 came up 5 to them, 4:2 angry 6 because they were teaching the people and announcing 7 in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 4:3 So 8 they seized 9 them and put them in jail 10 until the next day (for it was already evening). 4:4 But many of those who had listened to 11 the message 12 believed, and the number of the men 13 came to about five thousand.
4:5 On the next day, 14 their rulers, elders, and experts in the law 15 came together 16 in Jerusalem. 17 4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. 18 4:7 After 19 making Peter and John 20 stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name 21 did you do this?” 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, 22 replied, 23 “Rulers of the people and elders, 24 4:9 if 25 we are being examined 26 today for a good deed 27 done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed 28 – 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ 29 the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus 30 is the stone that was rejected by you, 31 the builders, that has become the cornerstone. 32 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people 33 by which we must 34 be saved.”
4:13 When they saw the boldness 35 of Peter and John, and discovered 36 that they were uneducated 37 and ordinary 38 men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 4:14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this. 39 4:15 But when they had ordered them to go outside the council, 40 they began to confer with one another, 4:16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain 41 to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign 42 has come about through them, 43 and we cannot deny it. 4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more 44 to anyone in this name.” 4:18 And they called them in and ordered 45 them not to speak or teach at all in the name 46 of Jesus. 4:19 But Peter and John replied, 47 “Whether it is right before God to obey 48 you rather than God, you decide, 4:20 for it is impossible 49 for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” 4:21 After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising 50 God for what had happened. 4:22 For the man, on whom this miraculous sign 51 of healing had been performed, 52 was over forty years old.
4:23 When they were released, Peter and John 53 went to their fellow believers 54 and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them. 4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind 55 and said, “Master of all, 56 you who made the heaven, the earth, 57 the sea, and everything that is in them, 4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through 58 your servant David our forefather, 59
‘Why do the nations 60 rage, 61
and the peoples plot foolish 62 things?
4:26 The kings of the earth stood together, 63
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his 64 Christ.’ 65
4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against 66 your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 67 4:28 to do as much as your power 68 and your plan 69 had decided beforehand 70 would happen. 4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to 71 their threats, and grant 72 to your servants 73 to speak your message 74 with great courage, 75 4:30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs 76 and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 4:31 When 77 they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, 78 and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 79 the word of God 80 courageously. 81
1 tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “captain.”
3 tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.
sn The commander of the temple guard was the title of the officer commanding the Jewish soldiers responsible for guarding and keeping order in the temple courts in Jerusalem.
4 sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.
5 tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).
6 tn Or “greatly annoyed,” “provoked.”
7 tn Or “proclaiming.”
8 tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the logical sequence of events.
9 tn Or “they arrested”; Grk “they laid hands on.”
10 tn Or “prison,” “custody.”
11 tn Or “had heard.”
12 tn Or “word.”
13 tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.
14 tn Grk “It happened that on the next day.” 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.
15 tn Or “and scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
sn Experts in the law would have been mostly like the Pharisees in approach. Thus various sects of Judaism were coming together against Jesus.
16 tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”
17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
18 sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as
19 tn Grk “And after.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new sentence is begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 7.
20 tn Grk “making them”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 sn By what name. The issue of the “name” comes up again here. This question, meaning “by whose authority,” surfaces an old dispute (see Luke 20:1-8). Who speaks for God about the ancient faith?
22 sn Filled with the Holy Spirit. The narrator’s remark about the Holy Spirit indicates that Peter speaks as directed by God and for God. This fulfills Luke 12:11-12 (1 Pet 3:15).
23 tn Grk “Spirit, said to them.”
24 tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian witnesses, read τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (tou Israhl, “of Israel”) after πρεσβύτεροι (presbuteroi, “elders”; so D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï it), while most of the better witnesses, chiefly Alexandrian (Ì74 א A B 0165 1175 vg sa bo), lack this modifier. The longer reading was most likely added by scribes to give literary balance to the addressees in that “Rulers” already had an adjunct while “elders” was left absolute.
25 tn This clause is a first class condition. It assumes for the sake of argument that this is what they were being questioned about.
26 tn Or “questioned.” The Greek term ἀνακρίνω (anakrinw) points to an examination similar to a legal one.
27 tn Or “for an act of kindness.”
28 tn Or “delivered” (σέσωται [seswtai], from σώζω [swzw]). See 4:12.
29 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
30 tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn The word “you” is inserted into the quotation because Peter is making a direct application of Ps 118:22 to his hearers. Because it is not in the OT, it has been left as normal type (rather than bold italic). The remarks are like Acts 2:22-24 and 3:12-15.
32 sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.
33 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
34 sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.
35 tn Or “courage.”
36 tn Or “and found out.”
37 sn Uneducated does not mean “illiterate,” that is, unable to read or write. Among Jews in NT times there was almost universal literacy, especially as the result of widespread synagogue schools. The term refers to the fact that Peter and John had no formal rabbinic training and thus, in the view of their accusers, were not qualified to expound the law or teach publicly. The objection is like Acts 2:7.
38 tn For the translation of ἰδιῶται (idiwtai) as “ordinary men” see L&N 27.26.
39 tn Or “nothing to say in opposition.”
40 tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
41 tn Or “evident.”
42 tn Here σημεῖον (shmeion) has been translated as “miraculous sign” rather than simply “sign” or “miracle” since both components appear to be present in the context. It is clear that the healing of the lame man was a miracle, but for the Sanhedrin it was the value of the miraculous healing as a sign that concerned them because it gave attestation to the message of Peter and John. The sign “speaks” as Peter claimed in 3:11-16.
43 tn Or “has been done by them.”
44 tn Or “speak no longer.”
45 tn Or “commanded.”
46 sn In the name of Jesus. Once again, the “name” reflects the person. The person of Jesus and his authority is the “troubling” topic that, as far as the Jewish leadership is concerned, needs controlling.
47 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
48 tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14).
49 tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.
50 tn Or “glorifying.”
51 tn Here σημεῖον (shmeion) has been translated as “miraculous sign” rather than simply “sign” or “miracle” since both components appear to be present in the context. See also the note on this word in v. 16.
52 tn Or “had been done.”
53 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity, since a new topic begins in v. 23 and the last specific reference to Peter and John in the Greek text is in 4:19.
54 tn Grk “to their own [people].” In context this phrase is most likely a reference to other believers rather than simply their own families and/or homes, since the group appears to act with one accord in the prayer that follows in v. 24. At the literary level, this phrase suggests how Jews were now splitting into two camps, pro-Jesus and anti-Jesus.
55 sn With one mind. Compare Acts 1:14.
56 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.
57 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.
58 tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).
59 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
60 tn Or “Gentiles.”
61 sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.
62 tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”
63 tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”
64 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.
65 sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.
66 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.
67 sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”
68 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
69 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
70 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.
71 tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”
72 sn Grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage. The request is not for a stop to persecution or revenge on the opponents, but for boldness (great courage) to carry out the mission of proclaiming the message of what God is doing through Jesus.
73 tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.
74 tn Grk “word.”
75 tn Or “with all boldness.”
76 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.
77 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.
78 sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.
79 tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.
80 tn Or “speak God’s message.”
81 tn Or “with boldness.”
