Acts 21:27-40

21:27 When the seven days were almost over, ¹  the Jews from the province of Asia ²  who had seen him in the temple area ³  stirred up the whole crowd ⁴  and seized ⁵  him, 21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ⁶  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ⁷  and this sanctuary! ⁸  Furthermore ⁹  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ¹⁰  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ¹¹  21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ¹²  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ¹³  21:30 The whole city was stirred up, ¹⁴  and the people rushed together. ¹⁵  They seized ¹⁶  Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, ¹⁷  and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying ¹⁸  to kill him, a report ¹⁹  was sent up ²⁰  to the commanding officer ²¹  of the cohort ²²  that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ²³  21:32 He ²⁴  immediately took ²⁵  soldiers and centurions ²⁶  and ran down to the crowd. ²⁷  When they saw ²⁸  the commanding officer ²⁹  and the soldiers, they stopped beating ³⁰  Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer ³¹  came up and arrested ³²  him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; ³³  he ³⁴  then asked who he was and what ³⁵  he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, ³⁶  and when the commanding officer ³⁷  was unable ³⁸  to find out the truth ³⁹  because of the disturbance, ⁴⁰  he ordered Paul ⁴¹  to be brought into the barracks. ⁴²  21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul ⁴³  had to be carried ⁴⁴  by the soldiers because of the violence ⁴⁵  of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people ⁴⁶  followed them, ⁴⁷  screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, ⁴⁸  he said ⁴⁹  to the commanding officer, ⁵⁰  “May I say ⁵¹  something to you?” The officer ⁵²  replied, ⁵³  “Do you know Greek? ⁵⁴  21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion ⁵⁵  and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’ ⁵⁶  into the wilderness ⁵⁷  some time ago?” ⁵⁸  21:39 Paul answered, ⁵⁹  “I am a Jew ⁶⁰  from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. ⁶¹  Please ⁶²  allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer ⁶³  had given him permission, ⁶⁴  Paul stood ⁶⁵  on the steps and gestured ⁶⁶  to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, ⁶⁷  he addressed ⁶⁸  them in Aramaic, ⁶⁹ 

[21:27]  ¹ tn 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]  ² tn 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]  ³ tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27]  ⁴ tn 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:28]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ⁸ tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[21:29]  ¹² tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29]  ¹³ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:30]  ¹⁴ tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:31]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “seeking.”

[21:31]  ¹⁹ tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

[21:31]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

[21:31]  ²³ tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

[21:32]  ²⁴ tn 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “taking…ran down.” The participle κατέδραμεν (katedramen) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:32]  ²⁶ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[21:32]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32]  ²⁸ tn Grk “seeing.” The participle ἰδόντες (idonte") has been taken temporally.

[21:32]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:32]  ³⁰ sn 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]  ³¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:33]  ³² tn Grk “seized.”

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

[21:33]  ³⁴ tn 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]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”

[21:34]  ³⁶ tn 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]  ³⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ³⁸ tn 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]  ³⁹ tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

[21:34]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

[21:34]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ⁴² 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.”

[21:35]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:35]  ⁴⁴ sn 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]  ⁴⁵ tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).

[21:36]  ⁴⁶ tn 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]  ⁴⁷ tn 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]  ⁴⁸ 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.”

[21:37]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[21:37]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:37]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

[21:37]  ⁵² tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:37]  ⁵³ tn Grk “said.”

[21:37]  ⁵⁴ sn “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]  ⁵⁵ tn 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]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”

[21:38]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “desert.”

[21:38]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “before these days.”

[21:39]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “said.”

[21:39]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[21:39]  ⁶¹ tn 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]  ⁶² tn Grk “I beg you.”

[21:40]  ⁶³ tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[21:40]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “motioned.”

[21:40]  ⁶⁷ tn 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]  ⁶⁸ tn 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]  ⁶⁹ tn 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.