NETBible KJV GRK-HEB XRef Names Arts Hymns

Discovery Box

Acts 21:23-40

Context
21:23 So do what¹ we tell you: We have four men² who have taken³ a vow;⁴ 21:24 take them and purify⁵ yourself along with them and pay their expenses,⁶ so that they may have their heads shaved.⁷ Then⁸ everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told⁹ about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with¹⁰ the law.¹¹ 21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided¹² that they should avoid¹³ meat that has been sacrificed to idols¹⁴ and blood and what has been strangled¹⁵ and sexual immorality.” 21:26 Then Paul took the men the next day,¹⁶ and after he had purified himself¹⁷ along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice¹⁸ of the completion of the days of purification,¹⁹ when²⁰ the sacrifice would be offered for each²¹ of them. 21:27 When the seven days were almost over,²² the Jews from the province of Asia²³ who had seen him in the temple area²⁴ stirred up the whole crowd²⁵ and seized²⁶ him, 21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel,²⁷ help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law,²⁸ and this sanctuary!²⁹ Furthermore³⁰ he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple³¹ and made this holy place ritually unclean!”³² 21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and³³ they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.)³⁴ 21:30 The whole city was stirred up,³⁵ and the people rushed together.³⁶ They seized³⁷ Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts,³⁸ and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying³⁹ to kill him, a report⁴⁰ was sent up⁴¹ to the commanding officer⁴² of the cohort⁴³ that all Jerusalem was in confusion.⁴⁴ 21:32 He⁴⁵ immediately took⁴⁶ soldiers and centurions⁴⁷ and ran down to the crowd.⁴⁸ When they saw⁴⁹ the commanding officer⁵⁰ and the soldiers, they stopped beating⁵¹ Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer⁵² came up and arrested⁵³ him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains;⁵⁴ he⁵⁵ then asked who he was and what⁵⁶ he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else,⁵⁷ and when the commanding officer⁵⁸ was unable⁵⁹ to find out the truth⁶⁰ because of the disturbance,⁶¹ he ordered Paul⁶² to be brought into the barracks.⁶³ 21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul⁶⁴ had to be carried⁶⁵ by the soldiers because of the violence⁶⁶ of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people⁶⁷ followed them,⁶⁸ screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,⁶⁹ he said⁷⁰ to the commanding officer,⁷¹ “May I say⁷² something to you?” The officer⁷³ replied,⁷⁴ “Do you know Greek?⁷⁵ 21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion⁷⁶ and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’⁷⁷ into the wilderness⁷⁸ some time ago?”⁷⁹ 21:39 Paul answered,⁸⁰ “I am a Jew⁸¹ from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.⁸² Please⁸³ allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer⁸⁴ had given him permission,⁸⁵ Paul stood⁸⁶ on the steps and gestured⁸⁷ to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,⁸⁸ he addressed⁸⁹ them in Aramaic,⁹⁰

[21:23] ¹tn Grk “do this that.”

[21:23] ²tn Grk “There are four men here.”

[21:23] ³tn 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] ⁴tn On the term for “vow,” see BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχή 2.

[21:24] ⁵sn 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] ⁶tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24] ⁷tn 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] ⁸tn 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] ⁹tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24] ¹⁰tn 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] ¹¹sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:25] ¹²tn 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] ¹³tn 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] ¹⁴tn 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] ¹⁵sn 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).

[21:26] ¹⁶tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 11.b.β has “temporal, to be next, immediately following…τῇ ἐχομένῃ…on the next day Lk 13:33…Ac 20:15; w. ἡμέρᾳ added…21:26.”

[21:26] ¹⁷tn That is, after he had undergone ritual cleansing. The aorist passive participle ἁγνισθείς (Jagnisqei") has been taken temporally of antecedent action.

[21:26] ¹⁸tn Grk “entered the temple, giving notice.” The participle διαγγέλλων (diangellwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:26] ¹⁹sn The days of purification refers to the days of ritual cleansing.

[21:26] ²⁰tn Grk “until” (BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.β.א), but since in English it is somewhat awkward to say “the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice would be offered,” the temporal clause was translated “when the sacrifice would be offered.” The point is that the sacrifice would be offered when the days were completed. Paul honored the request of the Jewish Christian leadership completely. As the following verse makes clear, the vow was made for seven days.

[21:26] ²¹tn Grk “for each one.”

[21:27] ²²tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”

[21:27] ²³tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[21:27] ²⁴tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27] ²⁵tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”

[21:27] ²⁶tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:28] ²⁷tn 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] ²⁸sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28] ²⁹tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28] ³⁰tn 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] ³¹tn 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] ³²tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[21:29] ³³tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29] ³⁴tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:30] ³⁵tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30] ³⁶tn 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] ³⁷tn 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] ³⁸tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:31] ³⁹tn Grk “seeking.”

[21:31] ⁴⁰tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

[21:31] ⁴¹tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.

[21:31] ⁴²tn 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] ⁴³sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

[21:31] ⁴⁴tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

[21:32] ⁴⁵tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated as a pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:32] ⁴⁶tn Grk “taking…ran down.” The participle κατέδραμεν (katedramen) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:32] ⁴⁷sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[21:32] ⁴⁸tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32] ⁴⁹tn Grk “seeing.” The participle ἰδόντες (idonte") has been taken temporally.

[21:32] ⁵⁰tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:32] ⁵¹sn The mob stopped beating Paul because they feared the Romans would arrest them for disturbing the peace and for mob violence. They would let the Roman officials take care of the matter from this point on.

[21:33] ⁵²tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:33] ⁵³tn Grk “seized.”

[21:33] ⁵⁴tn The two chains would be something like handcuffs (BDAG 48 s.v. ἅλυσις and compare Acts 28:20).

[21:33] ⁵⁵tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been replaced with a semicolon. “Then” has been supplied after “he” to clarify the logical sequence.

[21:33] ⁵⁶tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”

[21:34] ⁵⁷tn L&N 33.77 has “ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλο τι ἐπεφώνουν ἐν τῷ ὄχλῳ ‘some in the crowd shouted one thing; others, something else’ Ac 21:34.”

[21:34] ⁵⁸tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34] ⁵⁹tn This genitive absolute construction has been translated temporally; it could also be taken causally: “and since the commanding officer was unable to find out the truth.”

[21:34] ⁶⁰tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

[21:34] ⁶¹tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

[21:34] ⁶²tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34] ⁶³tn 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.”

[21:35] ⁶⁴tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:35] ⁶⁵sn Paul had to be carried. Note how the arrest really ended up protecting Paul. The crowd is portrayed as irrational at this point.

[21:35] ⁶⁶tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).

[21:36] ⁶⁷tn Grk “the multitude of people.” While πλῆθος (plhqo") is articular, it has been translated “a crowd” since it was probably a subset of the larger mob that gathered in v. 30.

[21:36] ⁶⁸tn The word “them” 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.

[21:37] ⁶⁹tn 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.”

[21:37] ⁷⁰tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[21:37] ⁷¹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:37] ⁷²tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

[21:37] ⁷³tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:37] ⁷⁴tn Grk “said.”

[21:37] ⁷⁵sn “Do you know Greek?” Paul as an educated rabbi was bilingual. Paul’s request in Greek allowed the officer to recognize that Paul was not the violent insurrectionist he thought he had arrested (see following verse). The confusion of identities reveals the degree of confusion dominating these events.

[21:38] ⁷⁶tn L&N 39.41 has “οὐκ ἄρα σὺ εἶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ὁ πρὸ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀναστατώσας ‘then you are not that Egyptian who some time ago started a rebellion’ Ac 21:38.”

[21:38] ⁷⁷tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”

[21:38] ⁷⁸tn Or “desert.”

[21:38] ⁷⁹tn Grk “before these days.”

[21:39] ⁸⁰tn Grk “said.”

[21:39] ⁸¹tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[21:39] ⁸²tn Grk “of a not insignificant city.” The double negative, common in Greek, is awkward in English and has been replaced by a corresponding positive expression (BDAG 142 s.v. ἄσημος 1).

[21:39] ⁸³tn Grk “I beg you.”

[21:40] ⁸⁴tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[21:40] ⁸⁵tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40] ⁸⁶tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40] ⁸⁷tn Or “motioned.”

[21:40] ⁸⁸tn γενομένης (genomenhs) has been taken temporally. BDAG 922 s.v. σιγή has “πολλῆς σιγῆς γενομένης when a great silence had fallen = when they had become silent Ac 21:40.”

[21:40] ⁸⁹tn Or “spoke out to.” L&N 33.27 has “to address an audience, with possible emphasis upon loudness – ‘to address, to speak out to.’ πολλῆς δέ σιγῆς γενομένης προσεφώνησεν τῇ ᾿Εβραίδι διαλέκτῳ ‘when they were quiet, he addressed them in Hebrew’ Ac 21:40.”

[21:40] ⁹⁰tn Grk “in the Hebrew dialect, saying.” This refers to the Aramaic spoken in Palestine in the 1st century (BDAG 270 s.v. ῾Εβραΐς). The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.