Kisah Para Rasul 5:28-33

5:28 saying, “We gave ¹  you strict orders ²  not to teach in this name. ³  Look, ⁴  you have filled Jerusalem ⁵  with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood ⁶  on us!” 5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, ⁷  “We must obey ⁸  God rather than people. ⁹  5:30 The God of our forefathers ¹⁰  raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. ¹¹  5:31 God exalted him ¹²  to his right hand as Leader ¹³  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ¹⁴  5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, ¹⁵  and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey ¹⁶  him.”

5:33 Now when they heard this, they became furious ¹⁷  and wanted to execute them. ¹⁸ 

Kisah Para Rasul 7:51-54

7:51 “You stubborn ¹⁹  people, with uncircumcised ²⁰  hearts and ears! ²¹  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ²²  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ²³  not persecute? ²⁴  They ²⁵  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ²⁶  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ²⁷  7:53 You ²⁸  received the law by decrees given by angels, ²⁹  but you did not obey ³⁰  it.” ³¹ 

Stephen is Killed

7:54 When they heard these things, they became furious ³²  and ground their teeth ³³  at him.

[5:28]  ¹ tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few important witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 Ï sy sa), have the negative particle οὐ (ou) here, effectively turning the high priest’s words into a question: “Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?” But the earliest and most important mss, along with some others (Ì⁷⁴ א* A B 1175 lat bo), lack the particle, making this a strong statement rather than a question. Scribes may have been tempted to omit the particle to strengthen the contrast between official Judaism and the new faith, but the fact that v. 27 introduces the quotation with ἐπηρώτησεν (ephrwthsen, “he questioned”) may well have prompted scribes to add οὐ to convert the rebuke into a question. Further, that excellent witnesses affirm the shorter reading is sufficient ground for accepting it as most probably authentic. NA²⁷ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[5:28]  ² tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).

[5:28]  ³ sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.

[5:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:28]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:28]  ⁶ sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

[5:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”

[5:29]  ⁸ sn Obey. See 4:19. This response has Jewish roots (Dan 3:16-18; 2 Macc 7:2; Josephus, Ant. 17.6.3 [17.159].

[5:29]  ⁹ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[5:30]  ¹⁰ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[5:30]  ¹¹ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the first century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

[5:31]  ¹² tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ¹³ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[5:32]  ¹⁵ tn Or “things.” They are preaching these things even to the hostile leadership.

[5:32]  ¹⁶ sn Those who obey. The implication, of course, is that the leadership is disobeying God.

[5:33]  ¹⁷ sn The only other use of this verb for anger (furious) is Acts 7:54 after Stephen’s speech.

[5:33]  ¹⁸ sn Wanted to execute them. The charge would surely be capital insubordination (Exod 22:28).

[7:51]  ¹⁹ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ²⁰ tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ²¹ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ²² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ²³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ²⁴ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[7:52]  ²⁶ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ²⁷ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[7:53]  ²⁸ tn Grk “whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, who received the law” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the pronoun “You” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.

[7:53]  ²⁹ tn Traditionally, “as ordained by angels,” but εἰς (eis) with the accusative here should be understood as instrumental (a substitute for ἐν [en]); so BDAG 291 s.v. εἰς 9, BDF §206. Thus the phrase literally means “received the law by the decrees [orders] of angels” with the genitive understood as a subjective genitive, that is, the angels gave the decrees.

[7:53]  sn Decrees given by angels. According to Jewish traditions in the first century, the law of Moses was mediated through angels. See also the note on “angel” in 7:35.

[7:53]  ³⁰ tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (fulassw, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.

[7:53]  ³¹ tn Or “did not obey it.”

[7:54]  ³² tn This verb, which also occurs in Acts 5:33, means “cut to the quick” or “deeply infuriated” (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπρίω).

[7:54]  ³³ tn Or “they gnashed their teeth.” This idiom is a picture of violent rage (BDAG 184 s.v. βρύχω). See also Ps 35:16.