1 Samuel 23:22-23

23:22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely ¹  where he is ²  and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. 23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. ³  Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him ⁴  among all the thousands of Judah.”

Mazmur 10:8-10

10:8 He waits in ambush near the villages; ⁵ 

in hidden places he kills the innocent.

His eyes look for some unfortunate victim. ⁶ 

10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; ⁷ 

he lies in ambush, waiting to catch ⁸  the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed ⁹  by pulling in his net. ¹⁰ 

10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 37:12-14

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ¹² 

and viciously attack them. ¹³ 

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ¹⁴  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ¹⁵ 

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ¹⁶  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 37:32-33

37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly

and try to kill them. ¹⁸ 

37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,

or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 36:26

36:26 He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes, ²⁰  Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.

Matius 2:4-8

2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ²¹  he asked them where the Christ ²²  was to be born. 2:5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ²³ 

2:7 Then Herod ²⁴  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 2:8 He ²⁵  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.”

Yohanes 11:47-53

11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ²⁶  called the council ²⁷  together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, ²⁸  everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary ²⁹  and our nation.”

11:49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, ³⁰  “You know nothing at all! 11:50 You do not realize ³¹  that it is more to your advantage to have one man ³²  die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” ³³  11:51 (Now he did not say this on his own, ³⁴  but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, ³⁵  11:52 and not for the Jewish nation ³⁶  only, ³⁷  but to gather together ³⁸  into one the children of God who are scattered.) ³⁹  11:53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.

Kisah Para Rasul 23:12-27

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came, ⁴⁰  the Jews formed ⁴¹  a conspiracy ⁴²  and bound themselves with an oath ⁴³  not to eat or drink anything ⁴⁴  until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy. ⁴⁵  23:14 They ⁴⁶  went ⁴⁷  to the chief priests ⁴⁸  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ⁴⁹  not to partake ⁵⁰  of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council ⁵¹  request the commanding officer ⁵²  to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine ⁵³  his case ⁵⁴  by conducting a more thorough inquiry. ⁵⁵  We are ready to kill him ⁵⁶  before he comes near this place.” ⁵⁷ 

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, ⁵⁸  he came and entered ⁵⁹  the barracks ⁶⁰  and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called ⁶¹  one of the centurions ⁶²  and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, ⁶³  for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion ⁶⁴  took him and brought him to the commanding officer ⁶⁵  and said, “The prisoner Paul called ⁶⁶  me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer ⁶⁷  took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want ⁶⁸  to report to me?” 23:20 He replied, ⁶⁹  “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council ⁷⁰  tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, ⁷¹  because more than forty of them ⁷²  are lying in ambush ⁷³  for him. They ⁷⁴  have bound themselves with an oath ⁷⁵  not to eat or drink anything ⁷⁶  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ⁷⁷  23:22 Then the commanding officer ⁷⁸  sent the young man away, directing him, ⁷⁹  “Tell no one that you have reported ⁸⁰  these things to me.” 23:23 Then ⁸¹  he summoned ⁸²  two of the centurions ⁸³  and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea ⁸⁴  along with seventy horsemen ⁸⁵  and two hundred spearmen ⁸⁶  by ⁸⁷  nine o’clock tonight, ⁸⁸  23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride ⁸⁹  so that he may be brought safely to Felix ⁹⁰  the governor.” ⁹¹  23:25 He wrote ⁹²  a letter that went like this: ⁹³ 

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor ⁹⁴  Felix, ⁹⁵  greetings. 23:27 This man was seized ⁹⁶  by the Jews and they were about to kill him, ⁹⁷  when I came up ⁹⁸  with the detachment ⁹⁹  and rescued him, because I had learned that he was ¹⁰⁰  a Roman citizen. ¹⁰¹ 

[23:22]  ¹ tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.

[23:22]  ² tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”

[23:23]  ³ tn Heb “established.”

[23:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will search him out.”

[10:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “he sits in the ambush of the villages.”

[10:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “his eyes for an unfortunate person lie hidden.” The language may picture a lion (see v. 9) peering out from its hiding place in anticipation that an unsuspecting victim will soon come strolling along.

[10:9]  ⁷ tn Or “in its den.”

[10:9]  ⁸ tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.

[10:9]  ⁹ tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.

[10:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”

[10:9]  sn The background of the imagery is hunting, where the hunter uses a net to entrap an unsuspecting bird or wild animal.

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidekeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (ba’atsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition -בְּ (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqÿshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelka’im, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelkhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel ka’im, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [’aniy] in v. 9).

[37:12]  ¹² tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.

[37:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.

[37:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[37:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[37:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

[37:33]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.

[36:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the son of the king.” Many of the commentaries express doubt that this actually refers to Jehoiakim’s own son since Jehoiakim was only about thirty at this time and one of his sons would not have been old enough to have been in such a position of authority. The same doubt is expressed about the use of this term in 38:6 and in 1 Kgs 22:26. The term need not refer to the ruling king’s own son but one of the royal princes.

[2:4]  ²¹ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ²² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:4]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[2:6]  ²³ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[2:7]  ²⁴ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[11:47]  ²⁶ tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.

[11:47]  ²⁷ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.

[11:48]  ²⁸ tn Grk “If we let him do thus.”

[11:48]  ²⁹ tn Or “holy place”; Grk “our place” (a reference to the temple in Jerusalem).

[11:49]  ³⁰ tn Grk “said to them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[11:50]  ³¹ tn Or “you are not considering.”

[11:50]  ³² tn Although it is possible to argue that ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") should be translated “person” here since it is not necessarily masculinity that is in view in Caiaphas’ statement, “man” was retained in the translation because in 11:47 “this man” (οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, outo" Jo anqrwpo") has as its referent a specific individual, Jesus, and it was felt this connection should be maintained.

[11:50]  ³³ sn In his own mind Caiaphas was no doubt giving voice to a common-sense statement of political expediency. Yet he was unconsciously echoing a saying of Jesus himself (cf. Mark 10:45). Caiaphas was right; the death of Jesus would save the nation from destruction. Yet Caiaphas could not suspect that Jesus would die, not in place of the political nation Israel, but on behalf of the true people of God; and he would save them, not from physical destruction, but from eternal destruction (cf. 3:16-17). The understanding of Caiaphas’ words in a sense that Caiaphas could not possibly have imagined at the time he uttered them serves as a clear example of the way in which the author understood that words and actions could be invested retrospectively with a meaning not consciously intended or understood by those present at the time.

[11:51]  ³⁴ tn Grk “say this from himself.”

[11:51]  ³⁵ tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).

[11:52]  ³⁶ tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.

[11:52]  ³⁷ sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.

[11:52]  ³⁸ tn Grk “that he might gather together.”

[11:52]  ³⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[23:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12]  ⁴² tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12]  ⁴³ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[23:13]  ⁴⁵ tn L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunwmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators – ‘conspiracy, plot.’ …‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”

[23:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14]  ⁴⁸ sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14]  ⁵⁰ tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15]  ⁵² tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15]  ⁵³ tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”

[23:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15]  ⁵⁵ tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15]  ⁵⁶ sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.

[23:15]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17]  ⁶³ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:19]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21]  ⁷⁴ 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]  ⁷⁵ 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]  ⁷⁶ 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]  ⁷⁷ 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]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22]  ⁷⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰ 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.

[23:23]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to the reported ambush, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[23:23]  ⁸² tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23]  ⁸³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23]  ⁸⁴ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of about 65 mi (just over 100 km).

[23:23]  map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:23]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23]  ⁸⁶ tn A military technical term of uncertain meaning. BDAG 217 s.v. δεξιολάβος states, “a word of uncertain mng., military t.t., acc. to Joannes Lydus…and Theophyl. Sim., Hist. 4, 1 a light-armed soldier, perh. bowman, slinger; acc. to a scholion in CMatthaei p. 342 body-guard….Spearman Goodspd., NRSV; ‘security officer’, GDKilpatrick, JTS 14, ’63, 393f.”

[23:23]  sn Two hundred soldiers…along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen. The resulting force assembled to guard Paul was almost a full cohort. The Roman commander was taking no chances, but was sending the issue up the chain of command to the procurator to decide.

[23:23]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “from.”

[23:23]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[23:24]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.”

[23:24]  sn Mounts for Paul to ride. The fact they were riding horses indicates they wanted everyone to move as quickly as possible.

[23:24]  ⁹⁰ sn Felix the governor was Antonius Felix, a freedman of Antonia, mother of the Emperor Claudius. He was the brother of Pallas and became procurator of Palestine in a.d. 52/53. His administration was notorious for its corruption, cynicism, and cruelty. According to the historian Tacitus (History 5.9) Felix “reveled in cruelty and lust, and wielded the power of a king with the mind of a slave.”

[23:24]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:25]  ⁹² tn Grk “writing.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation, supplying “he” (referring to the commanding officer, Claudius Lysias) as subject. The participle γράψας (grayas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:25]  ⁹³ tn Grk “having this form,” “having this content.” L&N 33.48 has “γράψσς ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον ‘then he wrote a letter that went like this’ Ac 23:25. It is also possible to understand ἐπιστολή in Ac 23:25 not as a content or message, but as an object (see 6.63).”

[23:26]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26]  ⁹⁵ sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[23:27]  ⁹⁶ 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]  ⁹⁷ 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]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “approached.”

[23:27]  ⁹⁹ 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]  ¹⁰⁰ tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27]  ¹⁰¹ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[23:27]  sn The letter written by the Roman commander Claudius Lysias was somewhat self-serving. He made it sound as if the rescue of a Roman citizen had been a conscious act on his part. In fact, he had made the discovery of Paul’s Roman citizenship somewhat later. See Acts 21:37-39 and 22:24-29.