³ sn Before our ancestors. Stephen has backtracked here to point out how faithful God had been before the constant move to idolatry just noted.

¹ tn Grk “whom our.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

³ sn Subverting our nation was a summary charge, as Jesus “subverted” the nation by making false claims of a political nature, as the next two detailed charges show.

³ sn “Should we use our swords?” The disciples’ effort to defend Jesus recalls Luke 22:35-38. One individual did not wait for the answer.

² sn The request of the apostles, “Increase our faith,” is not a request for a gift of faith, but a request to increase the depth of their faith.

¹ tn Or “because.” Understanding this verse as a result of v. 2 is a slightly better reading of the context. Knowing what is coming should impact our behavior now.

² tn Heb “and let our eye look upon Zion.” This is a Hebrew idiom for a typically smug or condescending look by someone in a superior position.

¹ tn Heb “the day of” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); cf. NIV “On the day of the festival of our king,” NLT “On royal holidays.”

² tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.

¹ tn Heb “please let our petition fall before you.” For the idiom here see 37:20 and the translator’s note there.

³ tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”

⁴ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

² tn Heb “Is it not you, O Lord our God?” The words “who does” are supplied in the translation for English style.

³ tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

¹ tn Heb “and let us break it open for ourselves”; NASB “make for ourselves a breach in its walls”; NLT “fight our way into.”

² tn Heb “there [will be] no breach, and there [will be] no going out, and there [will be] no crying out in our broad places.”

² tn Heb “at the full moon on the day of our festival.” The Hebrew word כֶּסֶה (keseh) is an alternate spelling of כֶּסֶא (keseʾ, “full moon”).

¹ tn Heb “for this is God, our God, forever and ever.” “This” might be paraphrased, “this protector described and praised in the preceding verses.”

² tn Heb “the pride of.” The phrase is appositional to “our inheritance,” indicating that the land is here described as a source of pride to God’s people.

¹ tn Heb “he chose for us our inheritance.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite (see “subdued” in v. 3).