Acts 21:34

21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, ¹  and when the commanding officer ²  was unable ³  to find out the truth ⁴  because of the disturbance, ⁵  he ordered Paul ⁶  to be brought into the barracks. ⁷ 

Acts 21:37

21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, ⁸  he said ⁹  to the commanding officer, ¹⁰  “May I say ¹¹  something to you?” The officer ¹²  replied, ¹³  “Do you know Greek? ¹⁴ 

Acts 23:10

23:10 When the argument became ¹⁵  so great the commanding officer ¹⁶  feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, ¹⁷  he ordered the detachment ¹⁸  to go down, take him away from them by force, ¹⁹  and bring him into the barracks. ²⁰ 

[21:34]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

[21:34]  ⁵ tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

[21:34]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[21:37]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:37]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

[21:37]  ¹² tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “said.”

[21:37]  ¹⁴ 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.

[23:10]  ¹⁵ tn This genitive absolute construction with the participle γινομένης (ginomenhs) has been taken temporally (it could also be translated as causal).

[23:10]  ¹⁶ 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.

[23:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “that Paul would be torn to pieces by them.” BDAG 236 s.v. διασπάω has “of an angry mob μὴ διασπασθῇ ὁ Παῦλος ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν that Paul would be torn in pieces by them Ac 23:10.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been converted to an equivalent active construction in the translation.

[23:10]  ¹⁸ tn Normally this term means “army,” but according to BDAG 947 s.v. στράτευμα, “Of a smaller detachment of soldiers, sing. Ac 23:10, 27.” In the plural it can be translated “troops,” but it is singular here.

[23:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “to go down, grab him out of their midst.”

[23:10]  ²⁰ 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.”