Jeremiah 26:15

26:15 But you should take careful note of this: If you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves and this city and those who live in it the guilt of murdering an innocent man. For the Lord has sent me to speak all this where you can hear it. That is the truth!” ¹ 

Jeremiah 38:6-9

38:6 So the officials ²  took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern ³  of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, ⁴  that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud. ⁵ 

An Ethiopian Official Rescues Jeremiah from the Cistern

38:7 An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, ⁶  a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put ⁷  in the cistern. While the king was holding court ⁸  at the Benjamin Gate, 38:8 Ebed Melech departed the palace and went to speak to the king. He said to him, 38:9 “Your royal Majesty, those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city. ⁹ 

Acts 23:16-22

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, ¹⁰  he came and entered ¹¹  the barracks ¹²  and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called ¹³  one of the centurions ¹⁴  and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, ¹⁵  for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion ¹⁶  took him and brought him to the commanding officer ¹⁷  and said, “The prisoner Paul called ¹⁸  me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer ¹⁹  took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want ²⁰  to report to me?” 23:20 He replied, ²¹  “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council ²²  tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, ²³  because more than forty of them ²⁴  are lying in ambush ²⁵  for him. They ²⁶  have bound themselves with an oath ²⁷  not to eat or drink anything ²⁸  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ²⁹  23:22 Then the commanding officer ³⁰  sent the young man away, directing him, ³¹  “Tell no one that you have reported ³²  these things to me.”

Acts 25:10-11

25:10 Paul replied, ³³  “I am standing before Caesar’s ³⁴  judgment seat, ³⁵  where I should be tried. ³⁶  I have done nothing wrong ³⁷  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ³⁸  25:11 If then I am in the wrong ³⁹  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, ⁴⁰  but if not one of their charges against me is true, ⁴¹  no one can hand me over to them. ⁴²  I appeal to Caesar!” ⁴³ 

Acts 28:18-19

28:18 When ⁴⁴  they had heard my case, ⁴⁵  they wanted to release me, ⁴⁶  because there was no basis for a death sentence ⁴⁷  against me. 28:19 But when the Jews objected, ⁴⁸  I was forced to appeal to Caesar ⁴⁹  – not that I had some charge to bring ⁵⁰  against my own people. ⁵¹ 

[26:15]  ¹ tn Heb “For in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak in your ears all these words/things.”

[38:6]  ² tn Heb “they.”

[38:6]  ³ sn A cistern was a pear-shaped pit with a narrow opening. Cisterns were cut or dug in the limestone rock and lined with plaster to prevent seepage. They were used to collect and store rain water or water carried up from a spring.

[38:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the son of the king.” See the translator’s note on Jer 36:26 for the rendering here.

[38:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “And they let Jeremiah down with ropes and in the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” The clauses have been reordered and restructured to create a more natural and smoother order in English.

[38:7]  ⁶ sn This individual, Ebed Melech, is mentioned only here. Later he will be promised deliverance from destruction when the city falls because he had shown trust in God (see Jer 39:16-18).

[38:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “Ebed Melech, the Cushite, a man, an eunuch/official, and he was [= who was; a circumstantial clause] in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah…” The passive construction “Jeremiah had been put” has been used to avoid the indefinite subject “they” or the addition of “the officials.” For the translation of סָרִיס (saris) as “official” here rather than “eunuch” see the translator’s note on 29:2 and see also the usage in 34:19. For the translation of “Cushite” as Ethiopian see the study note on 13:23.

[38:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “And the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate.” This clause is circumstantial to the following clause; thus “while the king was…” Most commentators agree that the reference to sitting in the gate here likely refers to the same kind of judicial context that has been posited for 26:10 (see the translator’s note there for further references). Hence the translation uses “sitting” with the more technical “holding court” to better reflect the probable situation.

[38:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Those men have made evil all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah in that they have thrown him into the cistern and he will die of starvation in the place where he is because there is no more food in the city.” The particle אֵת (’et) before “they have thrown” (אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִיכוּ, ’et ’asher hishlikhu) is explanatory or further definition of “all they have done to” (i.e., the particle is repeated for apposition). The verb form “and he is sure to die” is an unusual use of the vav (ו) consecutive + imperfect that the grammars see as giving a logical consequence without a past nuance (cf. GKC 328 §111.l and IBHS 557-58 §33.3.1f).

[23:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") and εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:16]  ¹² 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.”

[23:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19]  ²⁰ tn Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.

[23:20]  ²¹ tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20]  ²² tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21]  ²³ tn Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mh peisqh" autoi") has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.

[23:21]  ²⁴ tn Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autwn andre") “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.

[23:21]  ²⁵ tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21]  ²⁶ tn Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:21]  ²⁷ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone… ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”

[23:21]  ²⁸ tn 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.

[23:21]  ²⁹ tn Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”

[23:22]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22]  ³¹ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγγέλλω has “to make an announcement about someth. that must be done, give orders, command, instruct, direct of all kinds of persons in authority, worldly rulers, Jesus, the apostles…παραγγέλλειν w. an inf. and μή comes to mean forbid to do someth.: π. τινί w. aor. inf. Lk 5:14; 8:56; without the dat., which is easily supplied fr. the context Ac 23:22.” However, if the direct discourse which follows is to be retained in the translation, a different translation must be used since it is awkward to introduce direct discourse with the verb to forbid. Thus the alternative to direct was used.

[23:22]  ³² tn On this verb, see BDAG 325-26 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 2. The term was frequently used of an official report to authorities. In modern terms, this was a police tip.

[25:10]  ³³ tn Grk “said.”

[25:10]  ³⁴ tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10]  ³⁵ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.

[25:10]  ³⁶ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10]  ³⁷ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”

[25:11]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

[25:11]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

[25:11]  ⁴¹ tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

[25:11]  ⁴² sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

[25:11]  ⁴³ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[28:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “who when.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) has been replaced by the personal pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

[28:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “had questioned me”; or “had examined me.” BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 2 states, “to conduct a judicial hearing, hear a case, question.”

[28:18]  ⁴⁶ sn They wanted to release me. See Acts 25:23-27.

[28:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “no basis for death,” but in this context a sentence of death is clearly indicated.

[28:19]  ⁴⁸ tn That is, objected to my release.

[28:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[28:19]  ⁵⁰ tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω, “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.’”

[28:19]  ⁵¹ tn Or “my own nation.”