Acts 21:28

21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ¹  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ²  and this sanctuary! ³  Furthermore ⁴  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ⁵  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ⁶ 

Acts 28:23

28:23 They set ⁷  a day to meet with him, ⁸  and they came to him where he was staying ⁹  in even greater numbers. ¹⁰  From morning until evening he explained things ¹¹  to them, ¹²  testifying ¹³  about the kingdom of God ¹⁴  and trying to convince ¹⁵  them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.

[21:28]  ¹ 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]  ² sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ³ tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[28:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[28:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[28:23]  ⁹ tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”

[28:23]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”

[28:23]  ¹¹ tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[28:23]  ¹² tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

[28:23]  ¹³ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…God’s kingdom 28:23.”

[28:23]  ¹⁴ sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.

[28:23]  ¹⁵ tn Or “persuade.”