Acts 21:11

21:11 He came ¹  to us, took ²  Paul’s belt, ³  tied ⁴  his own hands and feet with it, ⁵  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ⁶  to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 21:28

21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ⁷  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ⁸  and this sanctuary! ⁹  Furthermore ¹⁰  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ¹¹  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ¹² 

[21:11]  ¹ tn Grk “And coming.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ² tn Grk “and taking.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ³ sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).

[21:11]  ⁴ tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ⁵ tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[21:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).

[21:28]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”