Acts 21:39--22:2

21:39 Paul answered, ¹  “I am a Jew ²  from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. ³  Please ⁴  allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer ⁵  had given him permission, ⁶  Paul stood ⁷  on the steps and gestured ⁸  to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, ⁹  he addressed ¹⁰  them in Aramaic, ¹¹ 

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense ¹²  that I now ¹³  make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard ¹⁴  that he was addressing ¹⁵  them in Aramaic, ¹⁶  they became even ¹⁷  quieter.) ¹⁸  Then ¹⁹  Paul said,

Acts 26:1-2

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ²⁰  said to Paul, “You have permission ²¹  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ²²  and began his defense: ²³ 

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ²⁴  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

Luke 21:12-15

21:12 But before all this, ²⁵  they will seize ²⁶  you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues ²⁷  and prisons. You ²⁸  will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 21:13 This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses. ²⁹  21:14 Therefore be resolved ³⁰  not to rehearse ³¹  ahead of time how to make your defense. 21:15 For I will give you the words ³²  along with the wisdom ³³  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Luke 21:1

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ³⁴  looked up ³⁵  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³⁶ 

Luke 3:14-15

3:14 Then some soldiers ³⁷  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ³⁸  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ³⁹  or by false accusation, ⁴⁰  and be content with your pay.”

3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation ⁴¹  and they all wondered ⁴²  whether perhaps John ⁴³  could be the Christ, ⁴⁴ 

[21:39]  ¹ tn Grk “said.”

[21:39]  ² tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[21:39]  ³ 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 The double negative, common in Greek, is awkward in English and has been replaced by a corresponding positive expression (BDAG 142 s.v. ἄσημος 1).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]  ⁴ tn Grk “I beg you.”

[21:40]  ⁵ tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[21:40]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40]  ⁸ tn Or “motioned.”

[21:40]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[22:1]  ¹² sn Listen to my defense. This is the first of several speeches Paul would make in his own defense: Acts 24:10ff.; 25:8, 16; and 26:1ff. For the use of such a speech (“apologia”) in Greek, see Josephus, Ag. Ap. 2.15 [2.147]; Wis 6:10.

[22:1]  ¹³ tn The adverb νυνί (nuni, “now”) is connected with the phrase τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας (th" pro" Juma" nuni apologia") rather than the verb ἀκούσατε (akousate), and the entire construction (prepositional phrase plus adverb) is in first attributive position and thus translated into English by a relative clause.

[22:2]  ¹⁴ tn ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

[22:2]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[22:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See the note on “Aramaic” in 21:40.

[22:2]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 613-14 s.v. μᾶλλον 1 “Abs. μ. can mean to a greater degree (than before), even more, now more than ever Lk 5:15; Jn 5:18; 19:8; Ac 5:14; 22:2; 2 Cor 7:7.”

[22:2]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 440 s.v. ἡσυχία 2 has “παρέχειν ἡσυχίαν quiet down, give a hearing…Ac 22:2.”

[22:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and.” Since this represents a continuation of the speech begun in v. 1, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[26:1]  ²⁰ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ²² tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ²³ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[26:2]  ²⁴ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[21:12]  ²⁵ sn But before all this. Another note of timing is present, this one especially important in understanding the sequence in the discourse. Before the things noted in vv. 8-11 are the events of vv. 12-19.

[21:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “will lay their hands on you.”

[21:12]  ²⁷ sn Some of the persecution is of Jewish origin (the synagogues). Some fulfillment of this can be seen in Acts. See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[21:12]  ²⁸ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[21:13]  ²⁹ tn Grk “This will turn out to you for [a] testimony.”

[21:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “determine in your hearts.”

[21:14]  ³¹ tn This term could refer to rehearsing a speech or a dance. On its syntax, see BDF §392.2.

[21:15]  ³² tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

[21:15]  ³³ tn Grk “and wisdom.”

[21:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ³⁶ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[3:14]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And soldiers.”

[3:14]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

[3:14]  ³⁹ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

[3:14]  ⁴⁰ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.

[3:15]  ⁴¹ tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokwnto") is taken temporally.

[3:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”

[3:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.

[3:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”