Acts 4 — Clausal Layout (Greek)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The arrest — and five thousand believe 4:1–4

vv. 1–3 — interrupted mid-sermon: priests, temple captain, Sadducees

Λαλούντων δὲ αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν λαὸνparticipial — genitive absolute — the Pentecost-sequel sermon cut off mid-word; leans on ἐπέστησαν

ἐπέστησαν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ ὁ στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ οἱ Σαδδουκαῖοι,independent — ἐφίστημι of sudden hostile arrival — cult, temple police, and party in one threefold subject

διαπονούμενοι διὰ τὸ διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς τὸν λαὸν καὶ καταγγέλλειν ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν,participial — causal participle with διὰ τό + two infinitives — the Sadducean motive: resurrection preached, and grounded ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ

καὶ ἐπέβαλον αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖραςindependent — the arrest idiom ἐπιβάλλειν τὰς χεῖρας (Luke 20:19; 21:12) — Jesus' prediction begins to land on his witnesses

καὶ ἔθεντο εἰς τήρησιν εἰς τὴν αὔριον·independent — τήρησις — legal pre-trial detention

ἦν γὰρ ἑσπέρα ἤδη.cause — procedural aside — no trial after nightfall; the hearing waits for morning

v. 4 — the growth notice: the word outruns the arrest

πολλοὶ δὲ τῶν ἀκουσάντων τὸν λόγον ἐπίστευσαν,independent — adversative δέ — imprisonment catalyzes growth, a Lukan pattern (6:7; 12:24)

καὶ ἐγενήθη ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν ἀνδρῶν [ὡς] χιλιάδες πέντε.independent — the second census — 3,000 (2:41) become 5,000 men; [ὡς] text-critically uncertain, read with the majority

Before the Sanhedrin — salvation in no other name 4:5–12

vv. 5–7 — the court convenes: three estates, one clan, one question

Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν αὔριον συναχθῆναι αὐτῶν τοὺς ἄρχοντας καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους καὶ τοὺς γραμματεῖς ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ,independent — Semitic Ἐγένετο + subject infinitive — the Sanhedrin's three estates, the Passion cast reassembled (Luke 22:66)

καὶ Ἄννας ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ Καϊάφας καὶ Ἰωάννης καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος καὶ ὅσοι ἦσαν ἐκ γένους ἀρχιερατικοῦ,phrase modifier — verbless name-list, nominative against the accusative ἄρχοντας — Luke's case-slip left visible; deposed Annas keeps the title though Caiaphas sits

καὶ στήσαντες αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ μέσῳparticipial — judicial staging — ἐν τῷ μέσῳ, the examinee's position; leans on ἐπυνθάνοντο

ἐπυνθάνοντο·independent — inceptive imperfect — the formal interrogation opens

Ἐν ποίᾳ δυνάμει ἢ ἐν ποίῳ ὀνόματι ἐποιήσατε τοῦτο ὑμεῖς;content — the credentials demand — δύναμις or ὄνομα; the contemptuous final ὑμεῖς: you, of all people

vv. 8–12 — Peter's defense: the crucified-and-raised name, the stone, the only salvation

τότε Πέτρος πλησθεὶς πνεύματος ἁγίου εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς·independent — the Lukan filling formula (2:4; 4:31; 13:9) — Luke 12:11–12 fulfilled: words given before rulers

Ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ πρεσβύτεροι,phrase modifier — vocative address — respectful, and an echo of the v. 5 roll-call

εἰ ἡμεῖς σήμερον ἀνακρινόμεθα ἐπὶ εὐεργεσίᾳ ἀνθρώπου ἀσθενοῦς,conditional — first-class protasis, sardonic — on trial ἐπὶ εὐεργεσίᾳ, for a benefaction; leans on γνωστὸν ἔστω

ἐν τίνι οὗτος σέσῳσται,content — indirect question restating the court's ἐν τίνι — σέσῳσται, the perfect bridging healing to the σωτηρία of v. 12

γνωστὸν ἔστω πᾶσιν ὑμῖν καὶ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ Ἰσραήλ,content — apodosis — γνωστὸν ἔστω, the decree formula (2:14; 28:28); the defense becomes proclamation

ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου,content — the ὅτι-content opens with the fronted name, suspended until ἐν τούτῳ resumes it — the court's own word (v. 7) answered

ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε,relative — the charge — emphatic ὑμεῖς answering the court's ὑμεῖς (v. 7)

ὃν ὁ θεὸς ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν,relative — the antithesis — the core kerygmatic reversal (2:23–24; 3:15)

ἐν τούτῳ οὗτος παρέστηκεν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ὑγιής.content — the resumption (ἐν τούτῳ) — the exhibit: παρέστηκεν, perfect, standing whole in court

οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ λίθος ὁ ἐξουθενηθεὶς ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν οἰκοδόμων, ὁ γενόμενος εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας.content — Ps 118:22, asyndetic — the Jesus-tradition's own text (Mark 12:10) turned on the builders sitting as judges: ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν

καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία,content — the climax — double negative οὐκ … οὐδενί; ἡ σωτηρία, the healing widened to salvation itself

οὐδὲ γὰρ ὄνομά ἐστιν ἕτερον ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸ δεδομένον ἐν ἀνθρώποιςcause — the ground — the given (δεδομένον) name: God's provision, not the church's claim; ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν, universal in scope

ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς.relative — the divine δεῖ — salvation a necessity of God's plan, and ἡμᾶς includes the judges

The council's dilemma — and the charge to silence 4:13–22

vv. 13–14 — παρρησία observed, the exhibit standing: nothing to say

Θεωροῦντες δὲ τὴν τοῦ Πέτρου καὶ Ἰωάννου παρρησίανparticipial — preposed participle leaning on ἐθαύμαζον — παρρησία, the chapter's keyword (vv. 29, 31)

καὶ καταλαβόμενοιparticipial — coordinate preposed participle — the council's double take

ὅτι ἄνθρωποι ἀγράμματοί εἰσιν καὶ ἰδιῶται,content — the sociological verdict — ἀγράμματοι καὶ ἰδιῶται, no scribal training; the irony of the whole scene

ἐθαύμαζον,independent — imperfect — the wonder lasts

ἐπεγίνωσκόν τε αὐτοὺςindependent — ἐπιγινώσκω — the dawning identification

ὅτι σὺν τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἦσαν.content — the explanation the court supplies itself — discipleship's definition (Mark 3:14): they were with him

τόν τε ἄνθρωπον βλέποντες σὺν αὐτοῖς ἑστῶτα τὸν τεθεραπευμένον,participial — causal participle leaning on εἶχον — the perfect τεθεραπευμένον: the healing stands there in person

οὐδὲν εἶχον ἀντειπεῖν.independent — the court silenced — Luke 21:15 ('a mouth none can withstand') enacted

vv. 15–18 — the closed session: an undeniable sign, so a gag order

κελεύσαντες δὲ αὐτοὺς ἔξω τοῦ συνεδρίου ἀπελθεῖν,participial — leans on συνέβαλλον — the accused sent out; Luke's narrator stays in the room

συνέβαλλον πρὸς ἀλλήλουςindependent — imperfect — the deliberation runs on

λέγοντες·participial — the speech-frame for the council's self-incriminating minutes

Τί ποιήσωμεν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις;content — deliberative subjunctive — the impasse stated as a question

ὅτι μὲν γὰρ γνωστὸν σημεῖον γέγονεν δι᾽ αὐτῶν,content — fronted ὅτι subject-clause leaning on φανερόν — the council concedes the σημεῖον, in Peter's own word γνωστόν (v. 10)

πᾶσιν τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν Ἰερουσαλὴμ φανερόν,content — verbless predication — φανερόν: publicity, not truth, is their problem

καὶ οὐ δυνάμεθα ἀρνεῖσθαι·content — the council's οὐ δυνάμεθα — matched word for word by the apostles' οὐ δυνάμεθα (v. 20)

ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μὴ ἐπὶ πλεῖον διανεμηθῇ εἰς τὸν λαόν,purpose — fronted ἵνα μή leaning on ἀπειλησώμεθα — containment as policy; διανέμω, the word spreading like a distribution

ἀπειλησώμεθα αὐτοῖς μηκέτι λαλεῖν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ μηδενὶ ἀνθρώπων.content — hortatory subjunctive — a threat where a refutation should be; 'this name' left unnamed, as if avoidable

καὶ καλέσαντες αὐτοὺςparticipial — recalled for the verdict — leans on παρήγγειλαν

παρήγγειλαν τὸ καθόλου μὴ φθέγγεσθαι μηδὲ διδάσκειν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.independent — the formal charge — τὸ καθόλου, absolutely; φθέγγεσθαι, not to utter a sound

vv. 19–22 — the reply and the release: obey God, and the man was over forty

ὁ δὲ Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης ἀποκριθέντες εἶπον πρὸς αὐτούς·independent — pleonastic ἀποκριθέντες + εἶπον — the two answer as one

Εἰ δίκαιόν ἐστιν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν ἀκούειν μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ θεοῦ,content — fronted Εἰ indirect question, object of κρίνατε — read as question, not condition; the Socratic form (Plato, Apol. 29d the classic parallel)

κρίνατε·content — the roles reversed — the accused hand the court its own verdict

οὐ γὰρ δυνάμεθα ἡμεῖς ἃ εἴδαμεν καὶ ἠκούσαμεν μὴ λαλεῖν.cause — the eyewitness necessity — οὐ δυνάμεθα … μὴ λαλεῖν, compulsion doubled; seen-and-heard, the witness formula (1:8; 2:32)

οἱ δὲ προσαπειλησάμενοιparticipial — προσαπειλέω, NT hapax — threats added on top of threats; leans on ἀπέλυσαν

ἀπέλυσαν αὐτούς,independent — the anticlimax — the court's whole yield is a warning

μηδὲν εὑρίσκοντες τὸ πῶς κολάσωνται αὐτούς,participial — the articular indirect question τὸ πῶς — no legal handle at all

διὰ τὸν λαόν,cause — διά + accusative grounds — the λαός the rulers claim (v. 8) shields the apostles

ὅτι πάντες ἐδόξαζον τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τῷ γεγονότι.cause — the people's verdict — imperfect δοξάζειν, ongoing praise the council dare not cross

ἐτῶν γὰρ ἦν πλειόνων τεσσεράκοντα ὁ ἄνθρωποςcause — narrative aside grounding the wonder — lame from birth (3:2), whole after forty years

ἐφ᾽ ὃν γεγόνει τὸ σημεῖον τοῦτο τῆς ἰάσεως.relative — pluperfect γεγόνει — the sign a settled fact; τῆς ἰάσεως, the healing named at last

The community's prayer — Psalm 2 and the shaken place 4:23–31

vv. 23–24 — the report to their own, and the address to the Δεσπότης

Ἀπολυθέντες δὲparticipial — picking up ἀπέλυσαν (v. 21) — leans on ἦλθον

ἦλθον πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίουςindependent — οἱ ἴδιοι — the community as the apostles' own; the new social boundary drawn

καὶ ἀπήγγειλανindependent — the full debrief that triggers the prayer

ὅσα πρὸς αὐτοὺς οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι εἶπον.relative — headless ὅσα-relative as object — the threats retold entire

οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντεςparticipial — leans on ἦραν — hearing turns straight to prayer

ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἦραν φωνὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸνindependent — ὁμοθυμαδόν, the unanimity keyword (1:14; 2:46) — one voice, singular φωνήν; an LXX idiom of communal crying out

καὶ εἶπαν·independent — the frame — the longest prayer in Acts hangs below

Δέσποτα,content — δεσπότης — absolute ownership; addressed to God over against the συνέδριον's pretensions

σὺ ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς,participial — appositional participle — the creator address (Exod 20:11; Ps 146:6): the maker of all outranks any council

vv. 25–26 — the citation: Psalm 2 through David's mouth

ὁ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου στόματος Δαυὶδ παιδός σου εἰπών·participial — the second appositional participle — the notoriously compressed citation-frame, the harder reading kept; Spirit → mouth → David the παῖς

Ἱνατί ἐφρύαξαν ἔθνηcontent — Ps 2:1 LXX — φρυάσσω, the war-horse's snort

καὶ λαοὶ ἐμελέτησαν κενά;content — the parallel colon — κενά: the plotting is empty before it starts (cf. v. 28)

παρέστησαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆςcontent — Ps 2:2a — the kings take their stand

καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.content — Ps 2:2b — ἄρχοντες, the council's own word (vv. 5, 8); κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ, against the Anointed

vv. 27–28 — the application: it happened, in this city, within the plan

συνήχθησαν γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ ἐπὶ τὸν ἅγιον παῖδά σου Ἰησοῦν,cause — the psalm's own verb resumed — ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας: it really happened, here; Jesus the ἅγιος παῖς, Servant language

ὃν ἔχρισας,relative — ἔχρισας unpacks the psalm's χριστοῦ — anointed at the baptism (10:38; Luke 3:22)

Ἡρῴδης τε καὶ Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος σὺν ἔθνεσιν καὶ λαοῖς Ἰσραήλ,phrase modifier — the delayed subject-list — the psalm's four actors matched one for one: kings/Herod, rulers/Pilate, ἔθνη, λαοί (plural, painfully including Israel)

ποιῆσαι ὅσα ἡ χείρ σου καὶ ἡ βουλή [σου] προώρισεν γενέσθαι.purpose — purpose infinitive — the conspirators unwittingly execute what χείρ and βουλή προώρισεν; the prayer's deepest confidence

vv. 29–30 — the petition: not safety but παρρησία, with the hand stretched out

καὶ τὰ νῦν, κύριε, ἔπιδε ἐπὶ τὰς ἀπειλὰς αὐτῶν,content — καὶ τὰ νῦν — the biblical pivot from confession to petition; the threats handed over, not feared

καὶ δὸς τοῖς δούλοις σου μετὰ παρρησίας πάσης λαλεῖν τὸν λόγον σου,content — the petition proper — not protection but παρρησία; δοῦλοι under the Δεσπότης

ἐν τῷ τὴν χεῖρά σου ἐκτείνειν σε εἰς ἴασινphrase modifier — ἐν τῷ + infinitive — bold speech set within God's outstretched hand (the χείρ of v. 28, now for ἴασις)

καὶ σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γίνεσθαι διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ ἁγίου παιδός σου Ἰησοῦ.content — coordinate infinitive inside ἐν τῷ — the forbidden ὄνομα is precisely the asked-for instrument

v. 31 — the answer: the room shakes

Καὶ δεηθέντων αὐτῶνparticipial — genitive absolute — leans on ἐσαλεύθη; the answer is immediate

ἐσαλεύθη ὁ τόποςindependent — theophanic shaking (Exod 19:18; Isa 6:4) — assent given in architecture

ἐν ᾧ ἦσαν συνηγμένοι,relative — periphrastic συνηγμένοι — the church 'gathered' answers the hostile συνήχθησαν of vv. 26–27

καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες πνεύματος ἁγίου,independent — a fresh filling — ἅπαντες, the whole company, not the apostles only

καὶ ἐλάλουν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ μετὰ παρρησίας.independent — v. 29 answered verbatim — imperfect ἐλάλουν: the bold speaking simply continues

One heart and soul — and Barnabas 4:32–37

vv. 32–33 — the summary: one heart and soul, all things common, great grace

Τοῦ δὲ πλήθους τῶν πιστευσάντων ἦν καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία,independent — καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία — the friendship ideal (and Deut 6:5's whole heart and soul) made corporate

καὶ οὐδὲ εἷς τι τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῷ ἔλεγεν ἴδιον εἶναι,independent — οὐδὲ εἷς — ownership unrenounced in law, renounced in speech (ἔλεγεν ἴδιον εἶναι)

ἀλλ᾽ ἦν αὐτοῖς ἅπαντα κοινά.independent — κοινά — the Greek friendship maxim (κοινὰ τὰ φίλων) grounded in the Spirit; echoes 2:44

καὶ δυνάμει μεγάλῃ ἀπεδίδουν τὸ μαρτύριον οἱ ἀπόστολοι τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ,independent — δυνάμει μεγάλῃ — the court's δύναμις question (v. 7) answered in practice; imperfect ἀπεδίδουν, testimony as ongoing office

χάρις τε μεγάλη ἦν ἐπὶ πάντας αὐτούς.independent — χάρις μεγάλη — divine favour resting on the whole community (cf. Luke 2:40)

vv. 34–35 — no needy person: the mechanism of the common purse

οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐνδεής τις ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς·cause — Deut 15:4 ('there shall be no needy among you') enacted — ἐνδεής, only here in the NT

ὅσοι γὰρ κτήτορες χωρίων ἢ οἰκιῶν ὑπῆρχον,relative — fronted ὅσοι-subject leaning on ἔφερον — the propertied class within the community

πωλοῦντεςparticipial — iterative present participle — sales as occasion arose, not one liquidation

ἔφερον τὰς τιμὰς τῶν πιπρασκομένωνcause — the mechanism — the second γάρ explains how no one lacked; imperfect ἔφερον

καὶ ἐτίθουν παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἀποστόλων·cause — παρὰ τοὺς πόδας — surrender to apostolic trusteeship; the posture Barnabas will strike

διεδίδετο δὲ ἑκάστῳcause — impersonal imperfect passive — ongoing distribution from the common fund

καθότι ἄν τις χρείαν εἶχεν.comparative — καθότι ἄν + imperfect — proportioned to arising need (as 2:45), not flat equality

vv. 36–37 — Barnabas: the named exemplar

Ἰωσὴφ δὲ ὁ ἐπικληθεὶς Βαρναβᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων,phrase modifier — fronted subject, suspended across the verse — resolved only by ἤνεγκεν (v. 37); the nickname is the apostles' own

ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον υἱὸς παρακλήσεως,phrase modifier — Luke's translation gloss — υἱὸς παρακλήσεως; the Aramaic may say 'son of a prophet,' but Luke's rendering governs the story

Λευίτης, Κύπριος τῷ γένει,phrase modifier — verbless apposition — tribe and diaspora origin; a Levite with a field to sell

ὑπάρχοντος αὐτῷ ἀγροῦparticipial — genitive absolute — the one possession named; leans on ἤνεγκεν

πωλήσαςparticipial — the single aorist sale — Barnabas does once what vv. 34–35 describe as the pattern

ἤνεγκεν τὸ χρῆμαindependent — τὸ χρῆμα, singular — the whole sum, against which 5:1–11 will measure Ananias

καὶ ἔθηκεν παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἀποστόλων.independent — the exemplary gesture — v. 35's idiom repeated verbatim; the chapter closes at the apostles' feet

Analysis. Acts 4 alternates narrative and speech, and the layout shows both. The narrative spine is Luke's flush-left aorist column — ἐπέστησαν, ἐπέβαλον, ἔθεντο, ἐθαύμαζον, ἀπέλυσαν, ἐσαλεύθη — repeatedly loaded by preposed, anchor-less participles and genitive absolutes that lean forward on their verbs (Λαλούντων δὲ αὐτῶν, στήσαντες, Θεωροῦντες, κελεύσαντες, Ἀπολυθέντες, δεηθέντων αὐτῶν, ὑπάρχοντος αὐτῷ ἀγροῦ). Against it two speech catenae hang blue. Peter's defense (vv. 8–12) runs under εἶπεν: the sardonic first-class protasis (a trial ἐπὶ εὐεργεσίᾳ) leaning on the γνωστὸν-ἔστω apodosis, whose ὅτι-clause fronts the name of Jesus and suspends it across the paired ὃν-relatives (you crucified / God raised) until ἐν τούτῳ resumes it; then the asyndetic Ps 118:22 stone, then the double-negative climax οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία. The community's prayer (vv. 24–30) hangs under εἶπαν on the bare vocative Δέσποτα, expanded by the appositional participles ὁ ποιήσας and ὁ εἰπών — the compressed citation-frame of v. 25 kept as the harder reading — with Ps 2:1–2 one level deeper under εἰπών, and the this-really-happened γάρ of vv. 27–28 hung on the psalm's own συνήχθησαν: the delayed subject-list matches the psalm's four actors, and the purpose infinitive concedes the whole conspiracy to what God's hand and plan προώρισεν. Cruxes the layout takes a side on: the nominative name-list of v. 6 is a verbless apposition to the accusative ἄρχοντας (Luke's case-slip left visible); Εἰ in v. 19 is a fronted indirect question leaning on κρίνατε, not a condition; the over-forty aside of v. 22 grounds ἐπὶ τῷ γεγονότι, the crowd's praise; and Barnabas (vv. 36–37) is one suspended sentence — a fronted subject carrying Luke's μεθερμηνευόμενον gloss as a modifier, resolved only by ἤνεγκεν and ἔθηκεν at the apostles' feet.