Acts 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ¹  “They had us beaten in public ²  without a proper trial ³  – even though we are Roman citizens ⁴  – and they threw us ⁵  in prison. And now they want to send us away ⁶  secretly? Absolutely not! They ⁷  themselves must come and escort us out!” ⁸ 

Acts 22:25-29

22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, ⁹  Paul said to the centurion ¹⁰  standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen ¹¹  without a proper trial?” ¹²  22:26 When the centurion ¹³  heard this, ¹⁴  he went to the commanding officer ¹⁵  and reported it, ¹⁶  saying, “What are you about to do? ¹⁷  For this man is a Roman citizen.” ¹⁸  22:27 So the commanding officer ¹⁹  came and asked ²⁰  Paul, ²¹  “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” ²²  He replied, ²³  “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer ²⁴  answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” ²⁵  “But I was even ²⁶  born a citizen,” ²⁷  Paul replied. ²⁸  22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away ²⁹  from him, and the commanding officer ³⁰  was frightened when he realized that Paul ³¹  was ³²  a Roman citizen ³³  and that he had had him tied up. ³⁴ 

Acts 23:27

23:27 This man was seized ³⁵  by the Jews and they were about to kill him, ³⁶  when I came up ³⁷  with the detachment ³⁸  and rescued him, because I had learned that he was ³⁹  a Roman citizen. ⁴⁰ 

[16:37]  ¹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:37]  ² tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:37]  ³ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[16:37]  ⁴ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[16:37]  ⁵ tn The word “us” 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.

[16:37]  ⁶ tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

[16:37]  ⁷ tn Grk “But they.”

[16:37]  ⁸ sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.

[22:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν. – Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”

[22:25]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:25]  ¹¹ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:25]  ¹² tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[22:26]  ¹³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:26]  ¹⁴ tn The word “this” 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.

[22:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:26]  ¹⁶ tn The word “it” 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.

[22:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although BDAG 627 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.α lists this phrase under the category “be about to, be on the point of,” it is possible it belongs under 1.c.γ, “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?”

[22:26]  ¹⁸ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and said to.”

[22:27]  ²¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:27]  ²² tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:27]  ²³ tn Grk “He said.”

[22:28]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:28]  ²⁵ sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.

[22:28]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”

[22:28]  ²⁷ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:28]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:29]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep away…ἀπό τινος… Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8…cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.

[22:29]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:29]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:29]  ³² tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.

[22:29]  ³³ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:29]  ³⁴ sn Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28-29; 24:22; 25:20, 26-27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.

[23:27]  ³⁵ tn The participle συλλημφθέντα (sullhmfqenta) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The remark reviews events of Acts 21:27-40.

[23:27]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and was about to be killed by them.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:27]  ³⁷ tn Or “approached.”

[23:27]  ³⁸ tn Normally this term means “army,” but according to BDAG 947 s.v. στράτευμα, “Of a smaller detachment of soldiers, sing. Ac 23:10, 27.” In the plural it can be translated “troops,” but it is singular here.

[23:27]  ³⁹ tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27]  ⁴⁰ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.