Kisah Para Rasul 4:23-31
Konteks4:23 When they were released, Peter and John 1 went to their fellow believers 2 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 3 and said, “Master of all, 4 you who made the heaven, the earth, 5 the sea, and everything that is in them, 4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through 6 your servant David our forefather, 7
and the peoples plot foolish 10 things?
4:26 The kings of the earth stood together, 11
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his 12 Christ.’ 13
4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against 14 your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 15 4:28 to do as much as your power 16 and your plan 17 had decided beforehand 18 would happen. 4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to 19 their threats, and grant 20 to your servants 21 to speak your message 22 with great courage, 23 4:30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs 24 and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 4:31 When 25 they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, 26 and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 27 the word of God 28 courageously. 29
2 Petrus 1:19
Konteks1:19 Moreover, 30 we 31 possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. 32 You do well if you pay attention 33 to this 34 as you would 35 to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star 36 rises in your hearts. 37
[4:23] 1 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.
[4:23] 2 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.
[4:24] 3 sn With one mind. Compare Acts 1:14.
[4:24] 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.
[4:24] 5 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.
[4:25] 6 tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).
[4:25] 7 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
[4:25] 9 sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.
[4:25] 10 tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”
[4:26] 11 tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”
[4:26] 12 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[4:26] sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.
[4:26] 13 sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.
[4:27] 14 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.
[4:27] 15 sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”
[4:28] 16 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
[4:28] 17 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
[4:28] 18 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.
[4:29] 19 tn Or “Lord, take notice of.”
[4:29] 20 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.
[4:29] 21 tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18.
[4:29] 23 tn Or “with all boldness.”
[4:30] 24 tn The miraculous nature of these signs is implied in the context.
[4:31] 25 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.
[4:31] 26 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.
[4:31] 27 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.
[4:31] 28 tn Or “speak God’s message.”
[4:31] 29 tn Or “with boldness.”
[1:19] 30 tn Grk “and.” The use of καί (kai) is of course quite elastic. Only the context can determine if it is adversative, continuative, transitional, etc.
[1:19] 31 sn We in v. 19 is apparently an inclusive “we” (the author and his audience). Such shifts in the first person plural are quite common in epistolary literature (cf., e.g., 2 Cor 10-13, passim).
[1:19] 32 tn The comparative adjective βεβαιότερον (bebaioteron) is the complement to the object τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον (ton profhtikon logon). As such, the construction almost surely has the force “The prophetic word is (more certain/altogether certain) – and this is something that we all have.” Many scholars prefer to read the construction as saying “we have the prophetic word made more sure,” but such a nuance is unparalleled in object-complement constructions (when the construction has this force, ποιέω [poiew] is present [as in 2 Pet 1:10]). The meaning, as construed in the translation, is that the Bible (in this case, the OT) that these believers had in their hands was a thoroughly reliable guide. Whether it was more certain than was even Peter’s experience on the Mount of Transfiguration depends on whether the adjective should be taken as a true comparative (“more certain”) or as an elative (“very certain, altogether certain”). Some would categorically object to any experience functioning as a confirmation of the scriptures and hence would tend to give the adjective a comparative force. Yet the author labors to show that his gospel is trustworthy precisely because he was an eyewitness of this great event. Further, to say that the OT scriptures (the most likely meaning of “the prophetic word”) were more trustworthy an authority than an apostle’s own experience of Christ is both to misconstrue how prophecy took place in the OT (did not the prophets have visions or other experiences?) and to deny the final revelation of God in Christ (cf. Heb 1:2). In sum, since syntactically the meaning that “we have confirmed the prophetic word by our experience” is improbable, and since contextually the meaning that “we have something that is a more reliable authority than experience, namely, the Bible” is unlikely, we are left with the meaning “we have a very reliable authority, the Old Testament, as a witness to Christ’s return.” No comparison is thus explicitly made. This fits both the context and normal syntax quite well. The introductory καί (kai) suggests that the author is adding to his argument. He makes the statement that Christ will return, and backs it up with two points: (1) Peter himself (as well as the other apostles) was an eyewitness to the Transfiguration, which is a precursor to the Parousia; and (2) the Gentile believers, who were not on the Mount of Transfiguration, nevertheless have the Old Testament, a wholly reliable authority that also promises the return of Christ.
[1:19] 33 tn Grk “paying attention” (the adverbial participle is either conditional [“if you pay attention”] or instrumental [“by paying attention”]; though there is difference in translation, there is virtually no difference in application). On a lexical level, “pay attention to” (προσέχω [prosecw]) does not, in a context such as this, mean merely observe or notice, but follow, give heed to, obey.
[1:19] 34 tn “To this” is a relative pronoun in Greek. The second half of v. 19 is thus a relative clause. Literally it reads “to which you do well if you pay attention.”
[1:19] 35 tn Grk “as”; ὡς (Jws) clauses after imperatives or implied commands (as here) make a comparison of what should be true (imperative) to what is true (indicative). This is the case even when the verb of the ὡς clause is only implied. Cf. Matt 6:10 (“may your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven”); 10:16 (“be wise as serpents [are], and be as gentle as doves [are]”); 22:39 (“love your neighbor as [you already do] love yourself”).
[1:19] 36 sn The reference to the morning star constitutes a double entendre. First, the term was normally used to refer to Venus. But the author of course has a metaphorical meaning in mind, as is obvious from the place where the morning star is to rise – “in your hearts.” Most commentators see an allusion to Num 24:17 (“a star shall rise out of Jacob”) in Peter’s words. Early Christian exegesis saw in that passage a prophecy about Christ’s coming. Hence, in this verse Peter tells his audience to heed the OT scriptures which predict the return of Christ, then alludes to one of the passages that does this very thing, all the while running the theme of light on a parallel track. In addition, it may be significant that Peter’s choice of terms here is not the same as is found in the LXX. He has used a Hellenistic word that was sometimes used of emperors and deities, perhaps as a further polemic against the paganism of his day.
[1:19] 37 sn The phrase in your hearts is sometimes considered an inappropriate image for the parousia, since the coming of Christ will be visible to all. But Peter’s point has to do with full comprehension of the revelation of Christ, something only believers will experience. Further, his use of light imagery is doing double-duty, suggesting two things at once (i.e., internal guidance to truth or illumination, and OT prophecy about Christ’s return) and hence can not be expected to be consistent with every point he wishes to make.
