Acts 24:12

24:12 They did not find me arguing ¹  with anyone or stirring up a crowd ²  in the temple courts ³  or in the synagogues ⁴  or throughout the city, ⁵ 

Acts 24:18

24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, ⁶  without a crowd or a disturbance. ⁷ 

[24:12]  ¹ tn Or “disputing,” “conducting a heated discussion.”

[24:12]  ² tn BDAG 381 s.v. ἐπίστασις 2 has “ἐ. ποιεῖν ὄχλου to cause a crowd to gather Ac 24:12.” Roman authorities would not allow a mob to gather and threaten the peace, and anyone suspected of instigating a mob would certainly be arrested.

[24:12]  ³ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[24:12]  ⁴ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[24:12]  ⁵ sn A second part of Paul’s defense is that he did nothing while he was in Jerusalem to cause unrest, neither arguing nor stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city.

[24:18]  ⁶ sn Ritually purified. Paul’s claim here is that he was honoring the holiness of God by being sensitive to issues of ritual purity. Not only was he not guilty of the charges against him, but he was thoroughly devout.

[24:18]  ⁷ tn BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος 3.b has “μετὰ θορύβου…with a disturbance Ac 24:18.”