Acts 4

While Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees came up to them.

1And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

NoteThe captain of the temple guard commanded the Levite police force that kept order in the temple courts; he ranked just below the high priest. The Sadducees were the wealthy, largely priestly party that controlled the temple. They treated only the five books of Moses as fully authoritative and denied that the dead would ever rise.

2They were very upset that the two men were teaching the people and announcing that in Jesus there is a rising from the dead.

2Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

NoteThe Sadducees' anger has a specific cause: they rejected any resurrection of the dead. The Greek behind "preached through Jesus the resurrection" can mean either "announced in Jesus' case that the dead rise" or "announced, on Jesus' authority, the resurrection of the dead." Both senses are live.

3So they grabbed Peter and John and locked them up until the next day, because it was already evening.

3And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

Note"Put them in hold" is 1611 English for put in custody, and "eventide" simply means evening. The detail matters legally: Jewish practice did not conduct serious hearings after dark, so an evening arrest meant a night in custody and a hearing the next morning.

4But many of the people who heard the message believed. The number of men who believed came to about five thousand.

4Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

NoteThe Greek word counts adult males specifically, so the figure may not include women and children. It is also unclear whether five thousand is the number of new believers or the running total of the community.

5The next day, the rulers, the elders, and the scribes met together in Jerusalem.

5And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,

NoteThe rulers, elders and scribes are the membership of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council in Jerusalem, about seventy men presided over by the high priest. "Scribes" were not copyists here but professional experts in the law of Moses.

6With them were Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and everyone else who belonged to the high priest's family.

6And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

NoteAnnas had held the high priesthood from about AD 6 until Rome removed him in AD 15. He kept the title and the influence, and five of his sons plus his son-in-law Caiaphas, the man actually holding the office at this time, held it after him. That is why the chapter can speak of "the kindred of the high priest" as a bloc. John and Alexander are otherwise unknown.

7They stood Peter and John in front of them and asked, "By what power, or in whose name, did you do this?"

7And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Note"By what name" is not a request for a label. In the ancient world a healer or exorcist worked by invoking a name, and the name named the power standing behind the act. The council is asking whose authority Peter and John claim.

8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel,

8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

NoteWhere the King James says "Holy Ghost," ghost in 1611 English meant spirit, with none of the modern sense of a haunting.

9we are being questioned today about a kind act done for a man who could not walk, and about how he was made well.

9If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

Note"Impotent" in the King James means powerless, here specifically unable to walk; it carries none of its later sexual sense. "Made whole" translates a Greek verb that means both healed and saved, the same root that appears as "saved" in verse 12.

10So let all of you know, and let all the people of Israel know, that this man stands here in front of you completely well by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You nailed him to a cross, and God raised him from the dead.

10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Note"Christ" is not a surname. It is the Greek word for "anointed one," the equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah, and it is a title.

11This Jesus is the stone that you builders treated as worthless, and it has become the most important stone of the corner.

11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

NotePeter is quoting Psalm 118:22, a line about builders discarding a stone as unusable. "The head of the corner" is ambiguous in the Greek: it can mean the cornerstone set at the foundation, which fixes the lines of the whole building, or the capstone set at the top to finish it.

12No one else can save. There is no other name given to people anywhere under heaven by which we must be saved."

12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Note"Saved" here is the same Greek root translated "made whole" in verse 9. Peter is playing on the double sense: the man was made well, and the word for that also means rescued or delivered.

13The council saw how boldly Peter and John spoke, and they could tell these were men with no formal training, ordinary men. They were surprised, and they realized that these men had been with Jesus.

13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Note"Unlearned and ignorant" does not mean stupid. The first word means lacking formal schooling in the law, the kind a scribe received. The second is the Greek word idiotes, meaning a private individual, a layman with no official standing or professional expertise. "Boldness" translates parrhesia, the freedom to say everything openly, the frank speech of a citizen who is not afraid.

14And since they could see the healed man standing there with them, they had nothing to say against it.

14And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

15So they ordered the two men to step outside the council room, and then they talked it over among themselves.

15But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

NoteSending the accused out while the judges deliberated was normal procedure. The council chamber is the Sanhedrin's own meeting place.

16They said, "What are we going to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows plainly that a remarkable miracle has been done through them, and we cannot say it did not happen.

16Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.

17But to keep this from spreading any further among the people, let us give them a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name."

17But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.

Note"Straitly threaten" is 1611 English for warn sternly or strictly. "In this name" means on Jesus' authority, invoking him, the same sense the council used in its question in verse 7.

18So they called them back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

18And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

19But Peter and John answered them, "You decide for yourselves whether God thinks it is right for us to obey you instead of him.

19But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

20As for us, we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

20For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

21So after threatening them again, they let them go. They could not find any way to punish them, because of the people, since everyone was praising God for what had happened.

21So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.

22The man who had been healed by this miracle was more than forty years old.

22For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.

NoteAccording to the previous chapter this man had been unable to walk from birth and had begged daily at a temple gate. Over forty years of that made him a familiar face in Jerusalem, which is why the council cannot simply dispute the story.

23As soon as they were released, Peter and John went back to their own group and told them everything the chief priests and elders had said to them.

23And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

24When the believers heard this, they all prayed out loud to God together with one mind. They said, "Lord, you are God. You made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.

24And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

NoteThe word translated "Lord" here is not the usual one. It is despotes, the master or owner of a household, an address to someone with absolute authority over everything in his charge. The opening line of the prayer follows a standard Jewish form drawn from Exodus 20:11 and Psalm 146:6.

25You spoke through the mouth of your servant David and said, 'Why did the nations rage, and why did the peoples make useless plans?

25Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

NoteThe quotation is Psalm 2:1-2. The King James "heathen" translates a word simply meaning the nations, that is, the non-Jewish peoples. "Imagine vain things" means to plot or scheme to no purpose. The Greek of this verse is notoriously tangled, and translators differ on how the words about David and the Spirit fit together.

26The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.'

26The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Note"His Christ" is "his anointed one." In Psalm 2 the anointed one was the reigning king of Israel, anointed with oil at his coronation; the Hebrew word is mashiach, from which Messiah comes, and the Greek word is christos.

27It is true that Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, did gather together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, the one you anointed.

27For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

NoteHerod is Herod Antipas, Rome's client ruler of Galilee, who according to Luke 23 questioned Jesus during his trial. Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from about AD 26 to 36. "Gentiles" means non-Jews, here the Romans, and it is the same Greek word rendered "heathen" in the psalm just quoted. The King James "thy holy child Jesus" translates pais, a word that means either child or servant; the servant sense links it to the servant figure of Isaiah.

28They did whatever your hand and your plan had already decided ahead of time would happen.

28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Note"Counsel" in the King James means a settled plan or decision, not advice. "Thy hand" is a standard Hebrew figure for power in action.

29And now, Lord, look at their threats, and let your servants speak your message with complete boldness.

29And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Note"Boldness" is again parrhesia, outspokenness, saying everything without holding back, which is precisely what the council has just forbidden.

30Reach out your hand to heal, and let signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

30By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

Note"Signs and wonders" is a fixed pair of words carried over from the Old Testament, where it is used again and again of what God did in Egypt and at the exodus. "Stretching forth thine hand" is the matching figure for God's power at work.

31When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke God's message boldly.

31And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

NoteA building shaking was a widely recognized sign, in both Jewish and Greek accounts, that a prayer had been heard and that God was present.

32All the many believers were one in heart and mind. Not one of them said that anything he owned was his own. Instead, they shared everything they had.

32And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Note"Ought" is the old spelling of aught, meaning anything at all. "They had all things common" renders a Greek phrase that was a familiar proverb about friendship: friends hold everything in common. Luke is describing the community in terms his Greek readers would recognize.

33With great power the apostles kept telling others that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead, and God's great kindness was on them all.

33And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

Note"Gave witness" is courtroom language: the apostles testified as eyewitnesses. "Great grace was upon them all" is ambiguous in the Greek. The word can mean God's favor resting on the community, or the goodwill they enjoyed from everyone around them.

34No one among them was in need. Everyone who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sale,

34Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

NoteThe Greek verb tenses suggest a repeated practice rather than a single act: people sold property as needs arose. The King James "the prices of the things that were sold" means the proceeds of the sales.

35and laid it at the apostles' feet. The money was then handed out to each person according to what he needed.

35And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

NoteLaying something at another person's feet was a formal gesture of handing it over, placing it entirely at their disposal. It is the act of transferring control, not just setting money on the floor.

36One of them was Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means Son of Encouragement.

36And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

NoteA Levite was a member of the tribe of Levi, which assisted in the temple but was given no tribal territory in Israel, so landholding by a Levite is worth noting even though Cyprus lies outside the land. Cyprus is a large island in the eastern Mediterranean with a substantial Jewish population. "Surnamed" in the King James means given an additional name or nickname. Some manuscripts call him Joses, others Joseph. The meaning Luke gives for Barnabas, son of consolation or encouragement, is not an obvious reading of the Aramaic, which is probably why he explains it.

37He owned a field. He sold it, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

37Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.