Acts 21:33-40

21:33 Then the commanding officer¹ came up and arrested² him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains;³ he⁴ then asked who he was and what⁵ he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else,⁶ and when the commanding officer⁷ was unable⁸ to find out the truth⁹ because of the disturbance,¹⁰ he ordered Paul¹¹ to be brought into the barracks.¹² 21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul¹³ had to be carried¹⁴ by the soldiers because of the violence¹⁵ of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people¹⁶ followed them,¹⁷ screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,¹⁸ he said¹⁹ to the commanding officer,²⁰ “May I say²¹ something to you?” The officer²² replied,²³ “Do you know Greek?²⁴ 21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion²⁵ and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’²⁶ into the wilderness²⁷ some time ago?”²⁸ 21:39 Paul answered,²⁹ “I am a Jew³⁰ from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.³¹ Please³² allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer³³ had given him permission,³⁴ Paul stood³⁵ on the steps and gestured³⁶ to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,³⁷ he addressed³⁸ them in Aramaic,³⁹

¹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

²tn Grk “seized.”

³tn The two chains would be something like handcuffs (BDAG 48 s.v. ἅλυσις and compare Acts 28:20).

⁴tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been replaced with a semicolon. “Then” has been supplied after “he” to clarify the logical sequence.

⁵tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”

⁶tn L&N 33.77 has “ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλο τι ἐπεφώνουν ἐν τῷ ὄχλῳ ‘some in the crowd shouted one thing; others, something else’ Ac 21:34.”

⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸tn This genitive absolute construction has been translated temporally; it could also be taken causally: “and since the commanding officer was unable to find out the truth.”

⁹tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

¹⁰tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

¹¹tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹²tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

¹³tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴sn Paul had to be carried. Note how the arrest really ended up protecting Paul. The crowd is portrayed as irrational at this point.

¹⁵tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).

¹⁶tn Grk “the multitude of people.” While πλῆθος (plhqo") is articular, it has been translated “a crowd” since it was probably a subset of the larger mob that gathered in v. 30.

¹⁷tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

¹⁸tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

¹⁹tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

²⁰tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

²¹tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

²²tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³tn Grk “said.”

²⁴sn “Do you know Greek?” Paul as an educated rabbi was bilingual. Paul’s request in Greek allowed the officer to recognize that Paul was not the violent insurrectionist he thought he had arrested (see following verse). The confusion of identities reveals the degree of confusion dominating these events.

²⁵tn L&N 39.41 has “οὐκ ἄρα σὺ εἶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ὁ πρὸ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀναστατώσας ‘then you are not that Egyptian who some time ago started a rebellion’ Ac 21:38.”

²⁶tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”

²⁷tn Or “desert.”

²⁸tn Grk “before these days.”

²⁹tn Grk “said.”

³⁰tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

³¹tn Grk “of a not insignificant city.” The double negative, common in Greek, is awkward in English and has been replaced by a corresponding positive expression (BDAG 142 s.v. ἄσημος 1).

³²tn Grk “I beg you.”

³³tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

³⁴tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³⁵tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³⁶tn Or “motioned.”

³⁷tn γενομένης (genomenhs) has been taken temporally. BDAG 922 s.v. σιγή has “πολλῆς σιγῆς γενομένης when a great silence had fallen = when they had become silent Ac 21:40.”

³⁸tn Or “spoke out to.” L&N 33.27 has “to address an audience, with possible emphasis upon loudness – ‘to address, to speak out to.’ πολλῆς δέ σιγῆς γενομένης προσεφώνησεν τῇ ᾿Εβραίδι διαλέκτῳ ‘when they were quiet, he addressed them in Hebrew’ Ac 21:40.”

³⁹tn Grk “in the Hebrew dialect, saying.” This refers to the Aramaic spoken in Palestine in the 1st century (BDAG 270 s.v. ῾Εβραΐς). The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.