Acts 20:23

20:23 except ¹  that the Holy Spirit warns ²  me in town after town ³  that ⁴  imprisonment ⁵  and persecutions ⁶  are waiting for me.

Acts 23:29

23:29 I found he ⁷  was accused with reference to controversial questions ⁸  about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. ⁹ 

Acts 26:31

26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, ¹⁰  “This man is not doing anything deserving ¹¹  death or imprisonment.”

Acts 16:26

16:26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds ¹²  of all the prisoners came loose.

Acts 26:29

26:29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time ¹³  not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.” ¹⁴ 

¹ tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”

² tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).

³ tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).

⁴ tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

⁵ tn Grk “bonds.”

⁶ tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.

⁷ tn Grk “whom I found.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been changed to a personal pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at this point.

⁸ tn BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19. – In 23:29, since περί had already been used, the subj. of the discussion is added in the gen. ζ. τοῦ νόμου αὐτῶν.”

⁹ tn Grk “but having no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.” BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 has “legal t.t.…ἔ. ἄξιον θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν a charge deserving death or imprisonment 23:29.”

¹³ tn Grk “they spoke to one another saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

¹⁴ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b has “θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄ. nothing deserving death or imprisonment 23:29; 26:31.”

¹⁹ tn Or perhaps, “chains.” The translation of τὰ δεσμά (ta desma) is to some extent affected by the understanding of ξύλον (xulon, “stocks”) in v. 24. It is possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied.

²⁵ tn BDAG 703 s.v. ὀλίγος 2.b.β has “καὶ ἐν ὀλ. καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ whether in a short or a long time vs. 29 (cf. B-D-F §195; GWhitaker, The Words of Agrippa to St. Paul: JTS 15, 1914, 82f; AFridrichsen, SymbOsl 14, ’35, 50; Field, Notes 141-43; s. Rob. 653).”

²⁶ sn Except for these chains. The chains represented Paul’s unjust suffering for the sake of the message. His point was, in effect, “I do not care how long it takes. I only hope you and everyone else hearing this would become believers in Christ, but without my unjust suffering.”