Acts 12:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 12:5 tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.
2. Acts 12:5 tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.
3. Acts 12:6 tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.
4. Acts 12:6 tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.
5. Acts 12:6 tn Or “were guarding.”
6. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “And behold.” 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. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.
7. Acts 12:7 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.
8. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10. Acts 12:7 tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.