Kisah Para Rasul 12:4-7

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ¹  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ²  planned ³  to bring him out for public trial ⁴  after the Passover. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly ⁵  praying to God for him. ⁶  12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, ⁷  Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while ⁸  guards in front of the door were keeping watch ⁹  over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly ¹⁰  an angel of the Lord ¹¹  appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck ¹²  Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s ¹³  wrists. ¹⁴ 

[12:4]  ¹ sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ² tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

[12:4]  ³ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

[12:5]  ⁵ tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

[12:5]  ⁶ 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.

[12:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

[12:6]  ⁸ 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.

[12:6]  ⁹ tn Or “were guarding.”

[12:7]  ¹⁰ 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.

[12:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[12:7]  ¹² 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 (pataxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.