Acts 19:21

A Riot in Ephesus

19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, ¹  Paul resolved ²  to go to Jerusalem, ³  passing through Macedonia ⁴  and Achaia. ⁵  He said, ⁶  “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” ⁷ 

Acts 23:3

23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! ⁸  Do ⁹  you sit there judging me according to the law, ¹⁰  and in violation of the law ¹¹  you order me to be struck?”

Acts 26:14

26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ¹²  ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself ¹³  by kicking against the goads.’ ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Grk “all these things had been fulfilled.”

² tn Grk “Paul purposed in [his] spirit” (an idiom). According to BDAG 1003 s.v. τίθημι 1.b.ε the entire idiom means “to resolve” (or “decide”): “ἔθετο ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῷ πνεύματι w. inf. foll. Paul resolved 19:21.”

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

⁵ sn Achaia was the Roman province of Achaia located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. Its principal city was Corinth.

⁶ tn Grk “Achaia, saying.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the awkwardness in English of having two participial clauses following one another (“passing through…saying”), the participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation.

⁷ sn This is the first time Paul mentions Rome. He realized the message of Christianity could impact that society even at its heights.

⁸ sn You whitewashed wall. This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (L&N 88.234; see also BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). Paul was claiming that the man’s response was two-faced (Ezek 13:10-16; Matt 23:27-28). See also Deut 28:22.

⁹ tn Grk “And do.” 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.

¹⁰ tn The law refers to the law of Moses.

¹¹ tn BDAG 769 s.v. παρανομέω has “παρανομῶν κελεύεις in violation of the law you order Ac 23:3.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.

¹⁶ tn Grk “It is hard for you.”

¹⁷ tn “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See BDAG 539-40 s.v. κέντρον 2.