Acts 23:10

23:10 When the argument became ¹  so great the commanding officer ²  feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, ³  he ordered the detachment ⁴  to go down, take him away from them by force, ⁵  and bring him into the barracks. ⁶ 

Acts 23:27

23:27 This man was seized ⁷  by the Jews and they were about to kill him, ⁸  when I came up ⁹  with the detachment ¹⁰  and rescued him, because I had learned that he was ¹¹  a Roman citizen. ¹² 

[23:10]  ¹ tn This genitive absolute construction with the participle γινομένης (ginomenhs) has been taken temporally (it could also be translated as causal).

[23:10]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “to go down, grab him out of their midst.”

[23:10]  ⁶ 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.”

[23:27]  ⁷ tn The participle συλλημφθέντα (sullhmfqenta) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The remark reviews events of Acts 21:27-40.

[23:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “and was about to be killed by them.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:27]  ⁹ tn Or “approached.”

[23:27]  ¹⁰ 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.

[23:27]  ¹¹ tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27]  ¹² tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.