Acts 21:18-25

21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. ¹  21:19 When Paul ²  had greeted them, he began to explain ³  in detail ⁴  what God ⁵  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ⁶  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ⁷  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ⁸  of the law. ⁹  21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ¹⁰  among the Gentiles to abandon ¹¹  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ¹²  or live ¹³  according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt ¹⁴  hear that you have come. 21:23 So do what ¹⁵  we tell you: We have four men ¹⁶  who have taken ¹⁷  a vow; ¹⁸  21:24 take them and purify ¹⁹  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ²⁰  so that they may have their heads shaved. ²¹  Then ²²  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ²³  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ²⁴  the law. ²⁵  21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ²⁶  that they should avoid ²⁷  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ²⁸  and blood and what has been strangled ²⁹  and sexual immorality.”

[21:18]  ¹ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.”

[21:19]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ³ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ⁴ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ⁵ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[21:20]  ⁶ tn Or “glorified.”

[21:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

[21:20]  ⁸ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

[21:20]  ⁹ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

[21:21]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

[21:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

[21:21]  ¹² sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

[21:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “or walk.”

[21:22]  ¹⁴ tn L&N 71.16 has “pertaining to being in every respect certain – ‘certainly, really, doubtless, no doubt.’…‘they will no doubt hear that you have come’ Ac 21:22.”

[21:23]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “do this that.”

[21:23]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “There are four men here.”

[21:23]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 33.469 has “‘there are four men here who have taken a vow’ or ‘we have four men who…’ Ac 21:23.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸ tn On the term for “vow,” see BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχή 2.

[21:24]  ¹⁹ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ²⁰ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²¹ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²² tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ²³ tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ²⁴ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ²⁵ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:25]  ²⁶ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  ²⁷ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ²⁸ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ²⁹ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14) Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and blood).