Section 4:1–22

Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John

In this section, the Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. The leaders were very concerned about what those two men were teaching and could not decide what to do with them. So they threatened to punish them if they continued to tell people about Jesus, and then released them from prison. But Peter and John refused to stop speaking about Jesus.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Peter and John were brought before the ⌊Jewish⌋ Council
-or-
Peter and John Before the Council (English Standard Version)

Paragraph 4:1–4

4:1a–c

At the end of chapter three, Peter and John were in the temple area. The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees came to them there. Since a new chapter begins here, it would be helpful for readers in some languages to say again where Peter and John are. For example:

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people ⌊in the temple area⌋.

4:1b

the priests: Not all the priests came. But this group of priests acted as a delegation from the whole group. In some languages the word “the” would imply that all the priests came. If that is true in your language, indicate the correct meaning. For example:

Priests
-or-

⌊Some⌋ priests

priests: A Jewish “priest” was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other rituals for them.

Here are some other ways to translate priests:

• Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of priests. For example:

sacrificers
-or-
men/persons who offer sacrifices to God
-or-
those who represent people to God

• Use a local word for priests. This option may be acceptable if the duties of local priests are similar to those of an Israelite/Jewish priest. You may need to indicate that the word refers to Jewish priests. For example:

Jewish people’s priests
-or-
sacrificers for the Jewish people

If possible, you should choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts.

the captain of the temple guard: The man who was the captain of the temple guard was in charge of the temple police who guarded and maintained order in the temple area. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the officer in charge of the Temple guards (Good News Translation)
-or-
the commander of the temple guard (NET Bible)
-or-
the leader of the temple police

the Sadducees: Not all the Sadducees came. But this group of Sadducees acted as a delegation from the whole group. In some languages the word “the” would imply that all the Sadducees came. If that is true in your language, indicate the correct meaning. For example:

Sadducees
-or-

⌊some⌋ Sadducees

Sadducees: The Sadducees were a Jewish religious group or party. They taught that the first five books of the Old Testament were more important than the other books. They did not believe that angels or spirits existed (Acts 23:8). Here are some ways to translate this word:

• Transliterate the word Sadducees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:

Sadusi members
-or-
Saduce adherents

• Transliterate the word Sadducees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Sadusi religious group
-or-
members of the Jewish group called the Saduceo

4:1c

came up to them: The phrase came up to indicates that the priests, the police leader, and the Sadducees walked to where Peter and John were in order to arrest them (4:3). Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

approached Peter and John (God’s Word)
-or-
came to Peter and John

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