Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 4:17
(17) Let us straitly threaten them.—The Greek gives literally, let us threaten them with threats. The phrase gives the Hebrew idiom for expressing intensity by reduplication, as in “blessing I will bless thee” (Genesis 22:17), “dying thou shalt die” (Genesis 2:17, marg.), and, as far as it goes, indicates that St. Luke translated from a report of the speech which Caiaphas had delivered in Aramaic. It is a perfectly possible alternative that the High Priest, speaking in Greek, reproduced, as the... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 4:16
(16) What shall we do to these men?—The question now debated was clearly one that never ought to have been even asked. They were sitting as a Court of Justice, and should have given their verdict for or against the accused according to the evidence. They abandon that office, and begin discussing what policy was most expedient. It was, we may add, characteristic of Caiaphas to do so (John 11:49-50).A notable miracle.—Literally, sign.We cannot deny it.—The very form of the sentence betrays the... read more