Acts 21:30-31

Context
21:30 The whole city was stirred up,¹ and the people rushed together.² They seized³ Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts,⁴ and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying⁵ to kill him, a report⁶ was sent up⁷ to the commanding officer⁸ of the cohort⁹ that all Jerusalem was in confusion.¹⁰

Acts 22:22

Context

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd¹¹ was listening to him until he said this.¹² Then¹³ they raised their voices and shouted,¹⁴ “Away with this man¹⁵ from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”¹⁶

Acts 23:12-15

Context

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came,¹⁷ the Jews formed¹⁸ a conspiracy¹⁹ and bound themselves with an oath²⁰ not to eat or drink anything²¹ until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.²² 23:14 They²³ went²⁴ to the chief priests²⁵ and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath²⁶ not to partake²⁷ of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council²⁸ request the commanding officer²⁹ to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine³⁰ his case³¹ by conducting a more thorough inquiry.³² We are ready to kill him³³ before he comes near this place.”³⁴

Acts 25:3

Context
25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul,³⁵ they urged Festus³⁶ to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush³⁷ to kill him along the way.

[21:30] ¹tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30] ²tn 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] ³tn 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] ⁴tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:31] ⁵tn Grk “seeking.”

[21:31] ⁶tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

[21:31] ⁷tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.

[21:31] ⁸tn 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] ⁹sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

[21:31] ¹⁰tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

[22:22] ¹¹tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22] ¹²tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22] ¹³tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22] ¹⁴tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22] ¹⁵tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22] ¹⁶tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[23:12] ¹⁷tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12] ¹⁸tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12] ¹⁹tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12] ²⁰tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12] ²¹tn The word “anything” 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.

[23:13] ²²tn L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunwmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators – ‘conspiracy, plot.’ …‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”

[23:14] ²³tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14] ²⁴tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14] ²⁵sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14] ²⁶tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14] ²⁷tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15] ²⁸tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15] ²⁹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15] ³⁰tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”

[23:15] ³¹tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15] ³²tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15] ³³sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.

[23:15] ³⁴tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[25:3] ³⁵tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.

[25:3] ³⁶tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.

[25:3] ³⁷sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.