Acts 9:23-25

Saul’s Escape from Damascus

9:23 Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted ¹  together to kill him, 9:24 but Saul learned of their plot against him. ²  They were also watching ³  the city gates ⁴  day and night so that they could kill him. 9:25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening ⁵  in the wall by lowering him in a basket. ⁶ 

Acts 9:29

9:29 He was speaking and debating ⁷  with the Greek-speaking Jews, ⁸  but they were trying to kill him.

Acts 13:50

13:50 But the Jews incited ⁹  the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out ¹⁰  of their region.

Acts 20:3

20:3 where he stayed ¹¹  for three months. Because the Jews had made ¹²  a plot ¹³  against him as he was intending ¹⁴  to sail ¹⁵  for Syria, he decided ¹⁶  to return through Macedonia. ¹⁷ 

Acts 20:19

20:19 serving the Lord with all humility ¹⁸  and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots ¹⁹  of the Jews.

Acts 21:28-31

21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ²⁰  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ²¹  and this sanctuary! ²²  Furthermore ²³  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ²⁴  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ²⁵  21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ²⁶  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ²⁷  21:30 The whole city was stirred up, ²⁸  and the people rushed together. ²⁹  They seized ³⁰  Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, ³¹  and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying ³²  to kill him, a report ³³  was sent up ³⁴  to the commanding officer ³⁵  of the cohort ³⁶  that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³⁷ 

Acts 23:12-22

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came, ³⁸  the Jews formed ³⁹  a conspiracy ⁴⁰  and bound themselves with an oath ⁴¹  not to eat or drink anything ⁴²  until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy. ⁴³  23:14 They ⁴⁴  went ⁴⁵  to the chief priests ⁴⁶  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ⁴⁷  not to partake ⁴⁸  of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council ⁴⁹  request the commanding officer ⁵⁰  to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine ⁵¹  his case ⁵²  by conducting a more thorough inquiry. ⁵³  We are ready to kill him ⁵⁴  before he comes near this place.” ⁵⁵ 

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, ⁵⁶  he came and entered ⁵⁷  the barracks ⁵⁸  and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called ⁵⁹  one of the centurions ⁶⁰  and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, ⁶¹  for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion ⁶²  took him and brought him to the commanding officer ⁶³  and said, “The prisoner Paul called ⁶⁴  me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer ⁶⁵  took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want ⁶⁶  to report to me?” 23:20 He replied, ⁶⁷  “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council ⁶⁸  tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, ⁶⁹  because more than forty of them ⁷⁰  are lying in ambush ⁷¹  for him. They ⁷²  have bound themselves with an oath ⁷³  not to eat or drink anything ⁷⁴  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ⁷⁵  23:22 Then the commanding officer ⁷⁶  sent the young man away, directing him, ⁷⁷  “Tell no one that you have reported ⁷⁸  these things to me.”

Acts 25:3

25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, ⁷⁹  they urged Festus ⁸⁰  to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush ⁸¹  to kill him along the way.

Acts 28:10-11

28:10 They also bestowed many honors, ⁸²  and when we were preparing to sail, ⁸³  they gave ⁸⁴  us all the supplies we needed. ⁸⁵ 

Paul Finally Reaches Rome

28:11 After three months we put out to sea ⁸⁶  in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the “Heavenly Twins” ⁸⁷  as its figurehead. ⁸⁸ 

Acts 28:1

Paul on Malta

28:1 After we had safely reached shore, ⁸⁹  we learned that the island was called Malta. ⁹⁰ 

Acts 2:15-16

2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ⁹¹  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ⁹²  2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: ⁹³ 

[9:23]  ¹ sn Fitting the pattern emphasized earlier with Stephen and his speech in Acts 7, some Jews plotted to kill God’s messenger (cf. Luke 11:53-54).

[9:24]  ² tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.

[9:24]  ³ tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).

[9:24]  ⁴ tn The word πύλη (pulh) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.

[9:25]  ⁵ tn The opening in the wall is not specifically mentioned here, but the parallel account in 2 Cor 11:33 mentions a “window” or “opening” (θυρίς, quris) in the city wall through which Paul was lowered. One alternative to introducing mention of the opening is to translate Acts 9:25 “they let him down over the wall,” as suggested in L&N 7.61. This option is not employed by many translations, however, because for the English reader it creates an (apparent) contradiction between Acts 9:25 and 2 Cor 11:33. In reality the account here is simply more general, omitting the detail about the window.

[9:25]  ⁶ tn On the term for “basket” used here, see BDAG 940 s.v. σπυρίς.

[9:29]  ⁷ tn Or “arguing.” BDAG 954 s.v. συζητέω 2 gives “dispute, debate, argue…τινί ‘w. someone’” for συνεζήτει (sunezhtei).

[9:29]  ⁸ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[13:50]  ⁹ tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.

[13:50]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).

[20:3]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”

[20:3]  ¹² tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹³ sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).

[20:3]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:3]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.

[20:3]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹⁷ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[20:19]  ¹⁸ sn On humility see 2 Cor 10:1; 11:7; 1 Thess 2:6; Col 3:12; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-11.

[20:19]  ¹⁹ sn These plots are mentioned in Acts 9:24; 20:13.

[21:28]  ²⁰ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[21:28]  ²¹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ²² tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ²³ tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁴ tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁵ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[21:29]  ²⁶ tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29]  ²⁷ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:30]  ²⁸ tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30]  ²⁹ tn Or “the people formed a mob.” BDAG 967 s.v. συνδρομή has “formation of a mob by pers. running together, running together…ἐγένετο σ. τοῦ λαοῦ the people rushed together Ac 21:30.”

[21:30]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[21:30]  ³¹ tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:31]  ³² tn Grk “seeking.”

[21:31]  ³³ tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

[21:31]  ³⁴ tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.

[21:31]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.

[21:31]  ³⁶ sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

[21:31]  ³⁷ tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

[23:12]  ³⁸ tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12]  ³⁹ tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12]  ⁴⁰ tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12]  ⁴¹ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12]  ⁴² tn The word “anything” 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.

[23:13]  ⁴³ tn L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunwmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators – ‘conspiracy, plot.’ …‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”

[23:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14]  ⁴⁶ sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14]  ⁴⁸ tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15]  ⁵¹ tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”

[23:15]  ⁵² tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15]  ⁵³ tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15]  ⁵⁴ sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.

[23:15]  ⁵⁵ tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") and εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:16]  ⁵⁸ tn 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.”

[23:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17]  ⁶⁰ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ⁶² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ⁶³ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:19]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.

[23:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mh peisqh" autoi") has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.

[23:21]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autwn andre") “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.

[23:21]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21]  ⁷² tn Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:21]  ⁷³ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone… ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”

[23:21]  ⁷⁴ tn The word “anything” 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.

[23:21]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”

[23:22]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22]  ⁷⁷ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγγέλλω has “to make an announcement about someth. that must be done, give orders, command, instruct, direct of all kinds of persons in authority, worldly rulers, Jesus, the apostles…παραγγέλλειν w. an inf. and μή comes to mean forbid to do someth.: π. τινί w. aor. inf. Lk 5:14; 8:56; without the dat., which is easily supplied fr. the context Ac 23:22.” However, if the direct discourse which follows is to be retained in the translation, a different translation must be used since it is awkward to introduce direct discourse with the verb to forbid. Thus the alternative to direct was used.

[23:22]  ⁷⁸ tn On this verb, see BDAG 325-26 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 2. The term was frequently used of an official report to authorities. In modern terms, this was a police tip.

[25:3]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.

[25:3]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.

[25:3]  ⁸¹ sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.

[28:10]  ⁸² tn Or “they also honored us greatly”; Grk “they also honored us with many honors” (an idiom).

[28:10]  ⁸³ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.” In this case the simpler English “sail” is more appropriate. The English participle “preparing” has also been supplied, since the provisioning of the ship would take place some time before the actual departure.

[28:10]  ⁸⁴ tn BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.b has “give τινί τι someth. to someone…ἀναγομένοις τὰ πρὸς τὰς χρείας when we sailed they gave us what we needed Ac 28:10.”

[28:10]  ⁸⁵ sn They gave us all the supplies we needed. What they had lost in the storm and shipwreck was now replaced. Luke describes these pagans very positively.

[28:11]  ⁸⁶ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[28:11]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “the ‘Twin Gods’”; Grk “the Dioscuri” (a joint name for the pagan deities Castor and Pollux).

[28:11]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “as its emblem.”

[28:1]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “We having been brought safely through” [to land] (same verb as 27:44). The word “shore” is implied, and the slight variations in translation from 27:44 have been made to avoid redundancy in English. The participle διασωθέντες (diaswqente") has been taken temporally.

[28:1]  ⁹⁰ sn Malta is an island (known by the same name today) in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily. The ship had traveled 625 mi (1,000 km) in the storm.

[2:15]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ⁹² tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[2:16]  ⁹³ sn Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.