18:12 Now while Gallio 11 was proconsul 12 of Achaia, 13 the Jews attacked Paul together 14 and brought him before the judgment seat, 15 18:13 saying, “This man is persuading 16 people to worship God in a way contrary to 17 the law!” 18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, 18 Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, 19 I would have been justified in accepting the complaint 20 of you Jews, 21 18:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement 22 about words and names and your own law, settle 23 it yourselves. I will not be 24 a judge of these things!” 18:16 Then he had them forced away 25 from the judgment seat. 26 18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, 27 and began to beat 28 him in front of the judgment seat. 29 Yet none of these things were of any concern 30 to Gallio.
1 tn Grk “said.”
2 tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
3 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.
4 tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.
5 sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.
6 tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”
7 tn BDAG 969-70 s.v. συνέρχομαι 2 states, “συνελθόντων ἐνθάδε prob. means (because of συνκαταβάντες 25:5) they came back here with (me) 25:17.”
8 tn BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβολή states, “‘delay’…legal t.t. postponement…ἀ. μηδεμίαν ποιησάμενος I did not postpone the matter Ac 25:17.” “Case” has been supplied instead of “matter” since it is more specific to the context. The participle ποιησάμενος (poihsameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 tn Grk “sitting…I ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
10 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.
11 sn Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from
12 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
13 sn Achaia was a Roman province created in 146
14 tn Grk “with one accord.”
15 tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time.
16 tn Or “inciting.”
17 tn Grk “worship God contrary to.” BDAG 758 s.v. παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.
18 tn Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).
19 tn BDAG 902 s.v. ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy…a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”
20 tn According to BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”
21 tn Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”
22 tn Or “dispute.”
23 tn Grk “see to it” (an idiom).
24 tn Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.
25 tn Grk “driven away,” but this could result in a misunderstanding in English (“driven” as in a cart or wagon?). “Forced away” conveys the idea; Gallio rejected their complaint. In contemporary English terminology the case was “thrown out of court.” The verb ἀπήλασεν (aphlasen) has been translated as a causative since Gallio probably did not perform this action in person, but ordered his aides or officers to remove the plaintiffs.
26 sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.
27 tn That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “leader/president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93).
28 tn The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
29 sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.
30 tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”
31 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
32 tn Or “the judge’s seat.”
33 tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
34 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
35 tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.
36 tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.
37 tn Or “the judge’s seat.”
38 sn The precise location of the place called ‘The Stone Pavement’ is still uncertain, although a paved court on the lower level of the Fortress Antonia has been suggested. It is not certain whether it was laid prior to
39 tn Grk “in Hebrew.”
40 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
41 tn Grk “And the soldiers.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
42 tn Or “wove.”
43 sn The crown of thorns was a crown plaited of some thorny material, intended as a mockery of Jesus’ “kingship.” Traditionally it has been regarded as an additional instrument of torture, but it seems more probable the purpose of the thorns was not necessarily to inflict more physical suffering but to imitate the spikes of the “radiant corona,” a type of crown portrayed on ruler’s heads on many coins of the period; the spikes on this type of crown represented rays of light pointing outward (the best contemporary illustration is the crown on the head of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor).
44 sn The purple color of the robe indicated royal status. This was further mockery of Jesus, along with the crown of thorns.
45 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
46 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
47 tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.