Acts 20:1--22:30

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ¹  them and saying farewell, ²  he left to go to Macedonia. ³  20:2 After he had gone through those regions ⁴  and spoken many words of encouragement ⁵  to the believers there, ⁶  he came to Greece, ⁷  20:3 where he stayed ⁸  for three months. Because the Jews had made ⁹  a plot ¹⁰  against him as he was intending ¹¹  to sail ¹²  for Syria, he decided ¹³  to return through Macedonia. ¹⁴  20:4 Paul ¹⁵  was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, ¹⁶  Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, ¹⁷  Gaius ¹⁸  from Derbe, ¹⁹  and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ²⁰  20:5 These had gone on ahead ²¹  and were waiting for us in Troas. ²²  20:6 We ²³  sailed away from Philippi ²⁴  after the days of Unleavened Bread, ²⁵  and within five days ²⁶  we came to the others ²⁷  in Troas, ²⁸  where we stayed for seven days. 20:7 On the first day ²⁹  of the week, when we met ³⁰  to break bread, Paul began to speak ³¹  to the people, and because he intended ³²  to leave the next day, he extended ³³  his message until midnight. 20:8 (Now there were many lamps ³⁴  in the upstairs room where we were meeting.) ³⁵  20:9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, ³⁶  was sinking ³⁷  into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak ³⁸  for a long time. Fast asleep, ³⁹  he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 20:10 But Paul went down, ⁴⁰  threw himself ⁴¹  on the young man, ⁴²  put his arms around him, ⁴³  and said, “Do not be distressed, for he is still alive!” ⁴⁴  20:11 Then Paul ⁴⁵  went back upstairs, ⁴⁶  and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them ⁴⁷  a long time, until dawn. Then he left. 20:12 They took the boy home alive and were greatly ⁴⁸  comforted.

The Voyage to Miletus

20:13 We went on ahead ⁴⁹  to the ship and put out to sea ⁵⁰  for Assos, ⁵¹  intending ⁵²  to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. ⁵³  He ⁵⁴  himself was intending ⁵⁵  to go there by land. ⁵⁶  20:14 When he met us in Assos, ⁵⁷  we took him aboard ⁵⁸  and went to Mitylene. ⁵⁹  20:15 We set sail ⁶⁰  from there, and on the following day we arrived off Chios. ⁶¹  The next day we approached ⁶²  Samos, ⁶³  and the day after that we arrived at Miletus. ⁶⁴  20:16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus ⁶⁵  so as not to spend time ⁶⁶  in the province of Asia, ⁶⁷  for he was hurrying ⁶⁸  to arrive in Jerusalem, ⁶⁹  if possible, ⁷⁰  by the day of Pentecost. 20:17 From Miletus ⁷¹  he sent a message ⁷²  to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him. ⁷³ 

20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ⁷⁴  the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ⁷⁵  in the province of Asia, ⁷⁶  20:19 serving the Lord with all humility ⁷⁷  and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots ⁷⁸  of the Jews. 20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming ⁷⁹  to you anything that would be helpful, ⁸⁰  and from teaching you publicly ⁸¹  and from house to house, 20:21 testifying ⁸²  to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. ⁸³  20:22 And now, ⁸⁴  compelled ⁸⁵  by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem ⁸⁶  without knowing what will happen to me there, ⁸⁷  20:23 except ⁸⁸  that the Holy Spirit warns ⁸⁹  me in town after town ⁹⁰  that ⁹¹  imprisonment ⁹²  and persecutions ⁹³  are waiting for me. 20:24 But I do not consider my life ⁹⁴  worth anything ⁹⁵  to myself, so that ⁹⁶  I may finish my task ⁹⁷  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ⁹⁸  of God’s grace.

20:25 “And now ⁹⁹  I know that none ¹⁰⁰  of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom ¹⁰¹  will see me ¹⁰²  again. 20:26 Therefore I declare ¹⁰³  to you today that I am innocent ¹⁰⁴  of the blood of you all. ¹⁰⁵  20:27 For I did not hold back from ¹⁰⁶  announcing ¹⁰⁷  to you the whole purpose ¹⁰⁸  of God. 20:28 Watch out for ¹⁰⁹  yourselves and for all the flock of which ¹¹⁰  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ¹¹¹  to shepherd the church of God ¹¹²  that he obtained ¹¹³  with the blood of his own Son. ¹¹⁴  20:29 I know that after I am gone ¹¹⁵  fierce wolves ¹¹⁶  will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30 Even from among your own group ¹¹⁷  men ¹¹⁸  will arise, teaching perversions of the truth ¹¹⁹  to draw the disciples away after them. 20:31 Therefore be alert, ¹²⁰  remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ¹²¹  each one of you with tears. 20:32 And now I entrust ¹²²  you to God and to the message ¹²³  of his grace. This message ¹²⁴  is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 20:33 I have desired ¹²⁵  no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine ¹²⁶  provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 20:35 By all these things, ¹²⁷  I have shown you that by working in this way we must help ¹²⁸  the weak, ¹²⁹  and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ¹³⁰ 

20:36 When ¹³¹  he had said these things, he knelt down ¹³²  with them all and prayed. 20:37 They all began to weep loudly, ¹³³  and hugged ¹³⁴  Paul and kissed him, ¹³⁵  20:38 especially saddened ¹³⁶  by what ¹³⁷  he had said, that they were not going to see him ¹³⁸  again. Then they accompanied ¹³⁹  him to the ship.

Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem

21:1 After ¹⁴⁰  we ¹⁴¹  tore ourselves away ¹⁴²  from them, we put out to sea, ¹⁴³  and sailing a straight course, ¹⁴⁴  we came to Cos, ¹⁴⁵  on the next day to Rhodes, ¹⁴⁶  and from there to Patara. ¹⁴⁷  21:2 We found ¹⁴⁸  a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, ¹⁴⁹  went aboard, ¹⁵⁰  and put out to sea. ¹⁵¹  21:3 After we sighted Cyprus ¹⁵²  and left it behind on our port side, ¹⁵³  we sailed on to Syria and put in ¹⁵⁴  at Tyre, ¹⁵⁵  because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 21:4 After we located ¹⁵⁶  the disciples, we stayed there ¹⁵⁷  seven days. They repeatedly told ¹⁵⁸  Paul through the Spirit ¹⁵⁹  not to set foot ¹⁶⁰  in Jerusalem. ¹⁶¹  21:5 When ¹⁶²  our time was over, ¹⁶³  we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied ¹⁶⁴  us outside of the city. After ¹⁶⁵  kneeling down on the beach and praying, ¹⁶⁶  21:6 we said farewell ¹⁶⁷  to one another. ¹⁶⁸  Then ¹⁶⁹  we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes. ¹⁷⁰  21:7 We continued the voyage from Tyre ¹⁷¹  and arrived at Ptolemais, ¹⁷²  and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day. 21:8 On the next day we left ¹⁷³  and came to Caesarea, ¹⁷⁴  and entered ¹⁷⁵  the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, ¹⁷⁶  and stayed with him. 21:9 (He had four unmarried ¹⁷⁷  daughters who prophesied.) ¹⁷⁸ 

21:10 While we remained there for a number of days, ¹⁷⁹  a prophet named Agabus ¹⁸⁰  came down from Judea. 21:11 He came ¹⁸¹  to us, took ¹⁸²  Paul’s belt, ¹⁸³  tied ¹⁸⁴  his own hands and feet with it, ¹⁸⁵  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ¹⁸⁶  to the Gentiles.’” 21:12 When we heard this, both we and the local people ¹⁸⁷  begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ¹⁸⁸  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ¹⁸⁹  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 21:14 Because he could not be persuaded, ¹⁹⁰  we said no more except, ¹⁹¹  “The Lord’s will be done.” ¹⁹² 

21:15 After these days we got ready ¹⁹³  and started up ¹⁹⁴  to Jerusalem. 21:16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea ¹⁹⁵  came along with us too, and brought us to the house ¹⁹⁶  of Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple from the earliest times, ¹⁹⁷  with whom we were to stay. 21:17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. ¹⁹⁸  21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. ¹⁹⁹  21:19 When Paul ²⁰⁰  had greeted them, he began to explain ²⁰¹  in detail ²⁰²  what God ²⁰³  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ²⁰⁴  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ²⁰⁵  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ²⁰⁶  of the law. ²⁰⁷  21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ²⁰⁸  among the Gentiles to abandon ²⁰⁹  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ²¹⁰  or live ²¹¹  according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt ²¹²  hear that you have come. 21:23 So do what ²¹³  we tell you: We have four men ²¹⁴  who have taken ²¹⁵  a vow; ²¹⁶  21:24 take them and purify ²¹⁷  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ²¹⁸  so that they may have their heads shaved. ²¹⁹  Then ²²⁰  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ²²¹  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ²²²  the law. ²²³  21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ²²⁴  that they should avoid ²²⁵  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ²²⁶  and blood and what has been strangled ²²⁷  and sexual immorality.” 21:26 Then Paul took the men the next day, ²²⁸  and after he had purified himself ²²⁹  along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice ²³⁰  of the completion of the days of purification, ²³¹  when ²³²  the sacrifice would be offered for each ²³³  of them. 21:27 When the seven days were almost over, ²³⁴  the Jews from the province of Asia ²³⁵  who had seen him in the temple area ²³⁶  stirred up the whole crowd ²³⁷  and seized ²³⁸  him, 21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ²³⁹  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ²⁴⁰  and this sanctuary! ²⁴¹  Furthermore ²⁴²  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ²⁴³  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ²⁴⁴  21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ²⁴⁵  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ²⁴⁶  21:30 The whole city was stirred up, ²⁴⁷  and the people rushed together. ²⁴⁸  They seized ²⁴⁹  Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, ²⁵⁰  and immediately the doors were shut. 21:31 While they were trying ²⁵¹  to kill him, a report ²⁵²  was sent up ²⁵³  to the commanding officer ²⁵⁴  of the cohort ²⁵⁵  that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ²⁵⁶  21:32 He ²⁵⁷  immediately took ²⁵⁸  soldiers and centurions ²⁵⁹  and ran down to the crowd. ²⁶⁰  When they saw ²⁶¹  the commanding officer ²⁶²  and the soldiers, they stopped beating ²⁶³  Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer ²⁶⁴  came up and arrested ²⁶⁵  him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; ²⁶⁶  he ²⁶⁷  then asked who he was and what ²⁶⁸  he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, ²⁶⁹  and when the commanding officer ²⁷⁰  was unable ²⁷¹  to find out the truth ²⁷²  because of the disturbance, ²⁷³  he ordered Paul ²⁷⁴  to be brought into the barracks. ²⁷⁵  21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul ²⁷⁶  had to be carried ²⁷⁷  by the soldiers because of the violence ²⁷⁸  of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people ²⁷⁹  followed them, ²⁸⁰  screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, ²⁸¹  he said ²⁸²  to the commanding officer, ²⁸³  “May I say ²⁸⁴  something to you?” The officer ²⁸⁵  replied, ²⁸⁶  “Do you know Greek? ²⁸⁷  21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion ²⁸⁸  and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’ ²⁸⁹  into the wilderness ²⁹⁰  some time ago?” ²⁹¹  21:39 Paul answered, ²⁹²  “I am a Jew ²⁹³  from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. ²⁹⁴  Please ²⁹⁵  allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer ²⁹⁶  had given him permission, ²⁹⁷  Paul stood ²⁹⁸  on the steps and gestured ²⁹⁹  to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, ³⁰⁰  he addressed ³⁰¹  them in Aramaic, ³⁰² 

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense ³⁰³  that I now ³⁰⁴  make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard ³⁰⁵  that he was addressing ³⁰⁶  them in Aramaic, ³⁰⁷  they became even ³⁰⁸  quieter.) ³⁰⁹  Then ³¹⁰  Paul said, 22:3 “I am a Jew, ³¹¹  born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up ³¹²  in this city, educated with strictness ³¹³  under ³¹⁴  Gamaliel ³¹⁵  according to the law of our ancestors, ³¹⁶  and was ³¹⁷  zealous ³¹⁸  for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I ³¹⁹  persecuted this Way ³²⁰  even to the point of death, ³²¹  tying up ³²²  both men and women and putting ³²³  them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders ³²⁴  can testify about me. From them ³²⁵  I also received ³²⁶  letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way ³²⁷  to make arrests there and bring ³²⁸  the prisoners ³²⁹  to Jerusalem ³³⁰  to be punished. 22:6 As ³³¹  I was en route and near Damascus, ³³²  about noon a very bright ³³³  light from heaven ³³⁴  suddenly flashed ³³⁵  around me. 22:7 Then I ³³⁶  fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand ³³⁷  the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked, ³³⁸  ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up ³³⁹  and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything ³⁴⁰  that you have been designated ³⁴¹  to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of ³⁴²  the brilliance ³⁴³  of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of ³⁴⁴  those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias, ³⁴⁵  a devout man according to the law, ³⁴⁶  well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, ³⁴⁷  22:13 came ³⁴⁸  to me and stood beside me ³⁴⁹  and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ ³⁵⁰  And at that very moment ³⁵¹  I looked up and saw him. ³⁵²  22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors ³⁵³  has already chosen ³⁵⁴  you to know his will, to see ³⁵⁵  the Righteous One, ³⁵⁶  and to hear a command ³⁵⁷  from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness ³⁵⁸  to all people ³⁵⁹  of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? ³⁶⁰  Get up, ³⁶¹  be baptized, and have your sins washed away, ³⁶²  calling on his name.’ ³⁶³  22:17 When ³⁶⁴  I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance ³⁶⁵  22:18 and saw the Lord ³⁶⁶  saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied, ³⁶⁷  ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues ³⁶⁸  who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness ³⁶⁹  Stephen was shed, ³⁷⁰  I myself was standing nearby, approving, ³⁷¹  and guarding the cloaks ³⁷²  of those who were killing him.’ ³⁷³  22:21 Then ³⁷⁴  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd ³⁷⁵  was listening to him until he said this. ³⁷⁶  Then ³⁷⁷  they raised their voices and shouted, ³⁷⁸  “Away with this man ³⁷⁹  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ³⁸⁰  22:23 While they were screaming ³⁸¹  and throwing off their cloaks ³⁸²  and tossing dust ³⁸³  in the air, 22:24 the commanding officer ³⁸⁴  ordered Paul ³⁸⁵  to be brought back into the barracks. ³⁸⁶  He told them ³⁸⁷  to interrogate Paul ³⁸⁸  by beating him with a lash ³⁸⁹  so that he could find out the reason the crowd ³⁹⁰  was shouting at Paul ³⁹¹  in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, ³⁹²  Paul said to the centurion ³⁹³  standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen ³⁹⁴  without a proper trial?” ³⁹⁵  22:26 When the centurion ³⁹⁶  heard this, ³⁹⁷  he went to the commanding officer ³⁹⁸  and reported it, ³⁹⁹  saying, “What are you about to do? ⁴⁰⁰  For this man is a Roman citizen.” ⁴⁰¹  22:27 So the commanding officer ⁴⁰²  came and asked ⁴⁰³  Paul, ⁴⁰⁴  “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” ⁴⁰⁵  He replied, ⁴⁰⁶  “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer ⁴⁰⁷  answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” ⁴⁰⁸  “But I was even ⁴⁰⁹  born a citizen,” ⁴¹⁰  Paul replied. ⁴¹¹  22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away ⁴¹²  from him, and the commanding officer ⁴¹³  was frightened when he realized that Paul ⁴¹⁴  was ⁴¹⁵  a Roman citizen ⁴¹⁶  and that he had had him tied up. ⁴¹⁷ 

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer ⁴¹⁸  wanted to know the true reason ⁴¹⁹  Paul ⁴²⁰  was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council ⁴²¹  to assemble. He then brought ⁴²²  Paul down and had him stand before them.

[20:1]  ¹ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ² tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ³ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[20:2]  ⁴ tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.

[20:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.

[20:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ⁷ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).

[20:3]  ⁷ tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”

[20:3]  ⁸ tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ⁹ sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).

[20:3]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:3]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.

[20:3]  ¹² tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹³ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[20:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:4]  ¹¹ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.

[20:4]  ¹² tn Grk “of the Thessalonians.”

[20:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “and Gaius,” but this καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[20:4]  ¹⁴ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 30 mi (50 km) southeast of Lystra.

[20:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus.” In the NT “Asia” always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[20:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “These, having gone on ahead, were waiting.” The participle προελθόντες (proelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:5]  ¹⁴ sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor.

[20:6]  ¹⁶ sn This marks the beginning of another “we” section in Acts. These have been traditionally understood to mean that Luke was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.

[20:6]  ¹⁷ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[20:6]  ¹⁸ sn The days of Unleavened Bread refer to the week following Passover. Originally an agricultural festival commemorating the beginning of harvest, it was celebrated for seven days beginning on the fifteenth day of the month Nisan (March-April). It was later combined with Passover (Exod 12:1-20; Ezek 45:21-24; Matt 26:17; Luke 22:1).

[20:6]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.a.α has “ἄ. ἡμερῶν πέντε within five days Ac 20:6.”

[20:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the others mentioned in v. 4) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:6]  ²¹ sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. From Philippi to Troas was about 125 mi (200 km).

[20:7]  ¹⁹ sn On the first day. This is the first mention of a Sunday gathering (1 Cor 16:2).

[20:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “assembled.”

[20:7]  ²¹ tn The verb διαλέγομαι (dialegomai) is frequently used of Paul addressing Jews in the synagogue. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21. In the context of a Christian gathering, it is preferable to translate διελέγετο (dielegeto) simply as “speak” here. The imperfect verb διελέγετο has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[20:7]  ²² tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:7]  ²³ tn Or “prolonged.”

[20:8]  ²² tn More commonly λαμπάς (lampa") means “torch,” but here according to BDAG 585 s.v. λαμπάς 2, “lamp…w. a wick and space for oil.”

[20:8]  ²³ sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author.

[20:9]  ²⁵ tn This window was probably a simple opening in the wall (see also BDAG 462 s.v. θυρίς).

[20:9]  ²⁶ tn Grk “sinking into a deep sleep.” BDAG 529 s.v. καταφέρω 3 has “ὕπνῳ βαθεῖ sink into a deep sleep…Ac 20:9a.” The participle καταφερόμενος (kataferomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:9]  ²⁷ tn The participle διαλεγομένου (dialegomenou) has been taken temporally.

[20:9]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 529 s.v. καταφέρω 3 has “κατενεχθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὔπνου overwhelmed by sleep vs. 9b,” but this expression is less common in contemporary English than phrases like “fast asleep” or “sound asleep.”

[20:10]  ²⁸ tn Grk “going down.” The participle καταβάς (katabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:10]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 377 s.v. ἐπιπίπτω 1.b has “ἐπέπεσεν αὐτῷ he threw himself upon him Ac 20:10.”

[20:10]  ³⁰ tn Grk “on him”; the referent (the young man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ³¹ tn BDAG 959 s.v. συμπεριλαμβάνω has “to throw one’s arms around, embrace w. acc. to be supplied Ac 20:10.” However, “embraced the young man” might be taken (out of context) to have erotic implications, while “threw his arms around him” would be somewhat redundant since “threw” has been used in the previous phrase.

[20:10]  ³² tn Grk “for his life is in him” (an idiom).

[20:11]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:11]  ³² tn Grk “going back upstairs.” The participle ἀναβάς (anabas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:11]  ³³ tn Grk “talking with them.” The participle ὁμιλήσας (Jomilhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “were not to a moderate degree” (an idiom). L&N 78.11 states: “μετρίως: a moderate degree of some activity or state – ‘moderately, to a moderate extent.’ ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα, καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίωθς ‘they took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted’ Ac 20:12. In Ac 20:12 the phrase οὐ μετρίως, literally ‘not to a moderate degree,’ is equivalent to a strong positive statement, namely, ‘greatly’ or ‘to a great extent.’”

[20:13]  ³⁷ tn Grk “going on ahead.” The participle προελθόντες (proelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:13]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[20:13]  ³⁹ sn Assos was a city of Mysia about 24 mi (40 km) southeast of Troas.

[20:13]  ⁴⁰ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:13]  ⁴¹ tn Or “for he told us to do this.” Grk “for having arranged it this way, he.” The participle διατεταγμένος (diatetagmeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. BDAG 237 s.v. διατάσσω 1 has “οὕτως διατεταγμένος ἦν he had arranged it so Ac 20:13.” L&N 15.224 has “‘he told us to do this.”

[20:13]  ⁴² tn A new sentence was begun here in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence; in Greek this is part of the preceding sentence beginning “We went on ahead.”

[20:13]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “there on foot.”

[20:14]  ⁴⁰ sn Assos was a city of Mysia about 24 mi (40 km) southeast of Troas.

[20:14]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “taking him aboard, we.” The participle ἀναλαβόντες (analabonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:14]  ⁴² sn Mitylene was the most important city on the island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea. It was about 44 mi (70 km) from Assos.

[20:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “setting sail from there.” The participle ἀποπλεύσαντες (apopleusante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “offshore from Chios.”

[20:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “crossed over to,” “arrived at.” L&N 54.12 has “παραβάλλω: (a technical, nautical term) to sail up to or near – ‘to approach, to arrive at, to sail to.’ παρεβάλομεν εἰς Σάμον ‘we approached Samos’ or ‘we arrived at Samos’ Ac 20:15.”

[20:15]  ⁴⁶ sn Samos is an island in the Aegean Sea off the western coast of Asia Minor.

[20:15]  ⁴⁷ sn Miletus was a seaport on the western coast of Asia Minor about 40 mi (70 km) south of Ephesus. From Mitylene to Miletus was about 125 mi (200 km).

[20:16]  ⁴⁶ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[20:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “so that he might not have to spend time.” L&N 67.79 has “ὅπως μὴ γένηται αὐτῷ χρονοτριβῆσαι ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίᾳ ‘so as not to spend any time in the province of Asia’ Ac 20:16.”

[20:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[20:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “was eager.”

[20:16]  ⁵⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[20:16]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “if it could be to him” (an idiom).

[20:17]  ⁴⁹ sn Miletus was a seaport on the western coast of Asia Minor about 45 mi (72 km) south of Ephesus.

[20:17]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[20:17]  ⁵¹ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. L&N 33.311 has for the verb μετακαλέομαι (metakaleomai) “to summon someone, with considerable insistence and authority – ‘to summon, to tell to come.’”

[20:18]  ⁵² tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.

[20:18]  ⁵³ tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”

[20:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.

[20:19]  ⁵⁵ sn On humility see 2 Cor 10:1; 11:7; 1 Thess 2:6; Col 3:12; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-11.

[20:19]  ⁵⁶ sn These plots are mentioned in Acts 9:24; 20:13.

[20:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “declaring.”

[20:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “profitable.” BDAG 960 s.v. συμφέρω 2.b.α has “τὰ συμφέροντα what advances your best interests or what is good for you Ac 20:20,” but the broader meaning (s.v. 2, “to be advantageous, help, confer a benefit, be profitable/useful”) is equally possible in this context.

[20:20]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “openly.”

[20:21]  ⁶¹ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…of repentance to Judeans and Hellenes Ac 20:21.”

[20:21]  ⁶² tc Several mss, including some of the more important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א Α C [D] E 33 36 323 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 pm and a number of versions), read Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) at the end of this verse. This word is lacking in B H L P Ψ 614 pm. Although the inclusion is supported by many earlier and better mss, internal evidence is on the side of the omission: In Acts, both “Lord Jesus” and “Lord Jesus Christ” occur, though between 16:31 and the end of the book “Lord Jesus Christ” appears only in 28:31, perhaps as a kind of climactic assertion. Thus, the shorter reading is to be preferred.

[20:22]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.

[20:22]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “bound.”

[20:22]  ⁶⁶ sn This journey to Jerusalem suggests a parallel between Paul and Jesus, since the “Jerusalem journey” motif figures so prominently in Luke’s Gospel (9:51-19:44).

[20:22]  ⁶⁷ tn BDAG 965 s.v. συναντάω 2 has τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ συναντήσοντα ἐμοὶ μὴ εἰδώς without knowing what will happen to me there Ac 20:22.”

[20:23]  ⁶⁷ tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”

[20:23]  ⁶⁸ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).

[20:23]  ⁶⁹ tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).

[20:23]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[20:23]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “bonds.”

[20:23]  ⁷² tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.

[20:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ⁷¹ tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”

[20:24]  ⁷² tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”

[20:24]  ⁷³ tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.

[20:24]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[20:25]  ⁷³ tn Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.

[20:25]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “all of you…will not see.” Greek handles its negation somewhat differently from English, and the translation follows English grammatical conventions.

[20:25]  ⁷⁵ sn Note how Paul’s usage of the expression proclaiming the kingdom is associated with (and intertwined with) his testifying to the good news of God’s grace in v. 24. For Paul the two concepts were interrelated.

[20:25]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “will see my face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).

[20:26]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “testify.”

[20:26]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).

[20:26]  ⁷⁸ tn That is, “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible” (an idiom). According to L&N 33.223, the meaning of the phrase “that I am innocent of the blood of all of you” is “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.” However, due to the length of this phrase and its familiarity to many modern English readers, the translation was kept closer to formal equivalence in this case. The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; Paul is addressing the Ephesian congregation (in the person of its elders) in both v. 25 and 27.

[20:27]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

[20:27]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

[20:27]  ⁸¹ tn Or “plan.”

[20:28]  ⁸² tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.

[20:28]  ⁸³ tn Grk “in which.”

[20:28]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.

[20:28]  ⁸⁵ tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ì⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou {aimato" tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.

[20:28]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “acquired.”

[20:28]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.

[20:29]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “after my departure.”

[20:29]  ⁸⁶ tn That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.” The battle that will follow would be a savage one.

[20:30]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “from among yourselves.”

[20:30]  ⁸⁹ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.

[20:30]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “speaking crooked things”; BDAG 237 s.v. διαστρέφω 2 has “λαλεῖν διεστραμμένα teach perversions (of the truth) Ac 20:30.”

[20:31]  ⁹¹ tn Or “be watchful.”

[20:31]  ⁹² tn Or “admonishing.”

[20:32]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “commend.” BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “τινά τινι entrust someone to the care or protection of someone…Of divine protection παρέθεντο αὐτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 14:23; cp. 20:32.”

[20:32]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “word.”

[20:32]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “the message of his grace, which.” The phrase τῷ δυναμένῳ οἰκοδομῆσαι… (tw dunamenw oikodomhsai…) refers to τῷ λόγω (tw logw), not τῆς χάριτος (ths caritos); in English it could refer to either “the message” or “grace,” but in Greek, because of agreement in gender, the referent can only be “the message.” To make this clear, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the referent “the message” was repeated at the beginning of this new sentence.

[20:33]  ⁹⁷ tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.

[20:34]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The words “of mine” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify whose hands Paul is referring to.

[20:35]  ¹⁰³ sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”

[20:35]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Or “must assist.”

[20:35]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.

[20:35]  ¹⁰⁶ sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.

[20:36]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[20:36]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Grk “kneeling down…he prayed.” The participle θείς (qeis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:37]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Grk “weeping a great deal,” thus “loudly” (BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός and BDAG 546 s.v. κλαυθμός).

[20:37]  ¹¹⁰ tn Grk “fell on Paul’s neck” (an idiom, see BDAG 1014 s.v. τράχηλος).

[20:37]  ¹¹¹ sn The Ephesians elders kissed Paul as a sign of both affection and farewell. The entire scene shows how much interrelationship Paul had in his ministry and how much he and the Ephesians meant to each other.

[20:38]  ¹¹² tn Or “pained.”

[20:38]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “by the word that he had said.”

[20:38]  ¹¹⁴ tn Grk “to see his face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).

[20:38]  ¹¹⁵ tn BDAG 873 s.v. προπέμπω 1 has “they accompanied him to the ship Ac 20:38.”

[21:1]  ¹¹⁵ tn Grk “It happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Since the action described by the participle ἀποσπασθέντας (apospasqenta", “tearing ourselves away”) is prior to the departure of the ship, it has been translated as antecedent action (“after”).

[21:1]  ¹¹⁶ sn This marks the beginning of another “we” section in Acts. These have been traditionally understood to mean that Luke was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.

[21:1]  ¹¹⁷ tn BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποσπάω 2.b has “pass. in mid. sense ἀ. ἀπό τινος tear oneself away Ac 21:1”; LSJ 218 gives several illustrations of this verb meaning “to tear or drag away from.”

[21:1]  ¹¹⁸ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[21:1]  ¹¹⁹ tn BDAG 406 s.v. εὐθυδρομέω has “of a ship run a straight course”; L&N 54.3 has “to sail a straight course, sail straight to.”

[21:1]  ¹²⁰ sn Cos was an island in the Aegean Sea.

[21:1]  ¹²¹ sn Rhodes was an island off the southwestern coast of Asia Minor.

[21:1]  ¹²² sn Patara was a city in Lycia on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. The entire journey was about 185 mi (295 km).

[21:2]  ¹¹⁸ tn Grk “and finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeuronte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.

[21:2]  ¹¹⁹ sn Phoenicia was the name of an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.

[21:2]  ¹²⁰ tn Grk “going aboard, we put out to sea.” The participle ἐπιβάντες (epibante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:2]  ¹²¹ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[21:3]  ¹²¹ sn Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[21:3]  ¹²² sn The expression left it behind on our port side here means “sailed past to the south of it” since the ship was sailing east.

[21:3]  ¹²³ tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”

[21:3]  ¹²⁴ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia. From Patara to Tyre was about 400 mi (640 km). It required a large cargo ship over 100 ft (30 m) long, and was a four to five day voyage.

[21:4]  ¹²⁴ tn BDAG 78 s.v. ἀνευρίσκω has “look/search for (w. finding presupposed) τινά…τοὺς μαθητάς Ac 21:4.” The English verb “locate,” when used in reference to persons, has the implication of both looking for and finding someone. The participle ἀνευρόντες (aneuronte") has been taken temporally.

[21:4]  ¹²⁵ tn BDAG 154 s.v. αὐτοῦ states, “deictic adv. designating a position relatively near or far…there…Ac 21:4.”

[21:4]  ¹²⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγον (elegon) has been taken iteratively.

[21:4]  ¹²⁷ sn Although they told this to Paul through the Spirit, it appears Paul had a choice here (see v. 14). Therefore this amounted to a warning: There was risk in going to Jerusalem, so he was urged not to go.

[21:4]  ¹²⁸ tn BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω places Ac 21:4 under 1, “go up/upon, mount, board…πλοίῳ…Ac 27:2…Abs. go on board, embark…21:1 D, 2. – So perh. also ἐ. εἰς ᾿Ιεροσόλυμα embark for Jerusalem (i.e. to the seaport of Caesarea) vs. 4.” BDAG notes, however, “But this pass. may also belong to 2. to move to an area and be there, set foot in.” Because the message from the disciples to Paul through the Holy Spirit has the character of a warning, the latter meaning has been adopted for this translation.

[21:4]  ¹²⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:5]  ¹²⁷ tn Grk “It happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[21:5]  ¹²⁸ tn Grk “When our days were over.” L&N 67.71 has “ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο ἡμᾶς ἐξαρτίσαι τὰς ἡμέρας ‘when we brought that time to an end’ or ‘when our time with them was over’ Ac 21:5.”

[21:5]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “accompanying.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the participle προπεμπόντων (propempontwn) translated as a finite verb.

[21:5]  ¹³⁰ tn Grk “city, and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[21:5]  ¹³¹ sn On praying in Acts, see 1:14, 24; 2:47; 4:23; 6:6; 10:2; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 16:25.

[21:6]  ¹³⁰ tn BDAG 98 s.v. ἀπασπάζομαι has “take leave of, say farewell to τινά someone…ἀπησπασάμεθα ἀλλήλους we said farewell to one another Ac 21:6.”

[21:6]  ¹³¹ sn These words are part of v. 5 in the standard critical Greek text.

[21:6]  ¹³² tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:6]  ¹³³ tn Grk “to their own”; the word “homes” is implied.

[21:7]  ¹³³ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.

[21:7]  ¹³⁴ sn Ptolemais was a seaport on the coast of Palestine about 30 mi (48 km) south of Tyre.

[21:8]  ¹³⁶ tn Grk “On the next day leaving, we came.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:8]  ¹³⁷ 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 another 40 mi (65 km).

[21:8]  ¹³⁸ tn Grk “and entering…we stayed.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:8]  ¹³⁹ sn Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1-7).

[21:9]  ¹³⁹ tn Grk “virgin.” While the term παρθένος (parqeno") can refer to a woman who has never had sexual relations, the emphasis in this context seems to be on the fact that Philip’s daughters were not married (L&N 9.39).

[21:9]  ¹⁴⁰ sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Luke again noted women who were gifted in the early church (see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.31; 3.39).

[21:10]  ¹⁴² tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.α has “ἐπὶ ἡμέρας πλείους for a (large) number of days, for many days…Ac 13:31. – 21:10…24:17; 25:14; 27:20.”

[21:10]  ¹⁴³ sn Agabus also appeared in Acts 11:28. He was from Jerusalem, so the two churches were still in contact with one another.

[21:11]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Grk “And coming.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Grk “and taking.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁴⁷ sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).

[21:11]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:11]  ¹⁴⁹ tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[21:11]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).

[21:12]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Or “the people there.”

[21:13]  ¹⁵¹ tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).

[21:13]  ¹⁵² tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together – ‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (dew) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.

[21:14]  ¹⁵⁴ tn The participle πειθομένου (peiqomenou) in this genitive absolute construction has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[21:14]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Grk “we became silent, saying.”

[21:14]  ¹⁵⁶ sn “The Lord’s will be done.” Since no one knew exactly what would happen, the matter was left in the Lord’s hands.

[21:15]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Or “we made preparations.”

[21:15]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Grk “were going up”; the imperfect verb ἀνεβαίνομεν (anebainomen) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:16]  ¹⁶⁰ 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.

[21:16]  ¹⁶¹ tn Grk “to Mnason…”; the words “the house of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the verb ξενισθῶμεν (xenisqwmen).

[21:16]  ¹⁶² tn Or perhaps, “Mnason of Cyprus, one of the original disciples.” BDAG 137 s.v. ἀρχαῖος 1 has “ἀ. μαθητής a disciple of long standing (perh. original disc.) Ac 21:16.”

[21:17]  ¹⁶³ tn Or “warmly” (see BDAG 144 s.v. ἀσμένως).

[21:18]  ¹⁶⁶ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.”

[21:19]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ¹⁷¹ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ¹⁷² sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[21:20]  ¹⁷² tn Or “glorified.”

[21:20]  ¹⁷³ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

[21:20]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

[21:20]  ¹⁷⁵ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

[21:21]  ¹⁷⁵ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

[21:21]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

[21:21]  ¹⁷⁷ sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

[21:21]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Grk “or walk.”

[21:22]  ¹⁷⁸ tn L&N 71.16 has “pertaining to being in every respect certain – ‘certainly, really, doubtless, no doubt.’…‘they will no doubt hear that you have come’ Ac 21:22.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸¹ tn Grk “do this that.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸² tn Grk “There are four men here.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸³ tn L&N 33.469 has “‘there are four men here who have taken a vow’ or ‘we have four men who…’ Ac 21:23.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁴ tn On the term for “vow,” see BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχή 2.

[21:24]  ¹⁸⁴ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ¹⁸⁵ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ¹⁸⁶ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ¹⁸⁸ tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ¹⁹⁰ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:25]  ¹⁸⁷ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  ¹⁸⁸ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ¹⁸⁹ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ¹⁹⁰ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14) Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and blood).

[21:26]  ¹⁹⁰ tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 11.b.β has “temporal, to be next, immediately following…τῇ ἐχομένῃ…on the next day Lk 13:33…Ac 20:15; w. ἡμέρᾳ added…21:26.”

[21:26]  ¹⁹¹ tn That is, after he had undergone ritual cleansing. The aorist passive participle ἁγνισθείς (Jagnisqei") has been taken temporally of antecedent action.

[21:26]  ¹⁹² tn Grk “entered the temple, giving notice.” The participle διαγγέλλων (diangellwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:26]  ¹⁹³ sn The days of purification refers to the days of ritual cleansing.

[21:26]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Grk “until” (BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.β.א), but since in English it is somewhat awkward to say “the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice would be offered,” the temporal clause was translated “when the sacrifice would be offered.” The point is that the sacrifice would be offered when the days were completed. Paul honored the request of the Jewish Christian leadership completely. As the following verse makes clear, the vow was made for seven days.

[21:26]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Grk “for each one.”

[21:27]  ¹⁹³ tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”

[21:27]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[21:27]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”

[21:27]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:28]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[21:28]  ¹⁹⁷ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  ¹⁹⁹ tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁰⁰ tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁰¹ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[21:29]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29]  ²⁰⁰ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:30]  ²⁰² tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30]  ²⁰³ tn Or “the people formed a mob.” BDAG 967 s.v. συνδρομή has “formation of a mob by pers. running together, running together…ἐγένετο σ. τοῦ λαοῦ the people rushed together Ac 21:30.”

[21:30]  ²⁰⁴ tn Grk “and seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[21:30]  ²⁰⁵ tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:31]  ²⁰⁵ tn Grk “seeking.”

[21:31]  ²⁰⁶ tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

[21:31]  ²⁰⁷ tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.

[21:31]  ²⁰⁸ 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.

[21:31]  ²⁰⁹ sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

[21:31]  ²¹⁰ tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

[21:32]  ²⁰⁸ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated as a pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:32]  ²⁰⁹ tn Grk “taking…ran down.” The participle κατέδραμεν (katedramen) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:32]  ²¹⁰ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[21:32]  ²¹¹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32]  ²¹² tn Grk “seeing.” The participle ἰδόντες (idonte") has been taken temporally.

[21:32]  ²¹³ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:32]  ²¹⁴ sn The mob stopped beating Paul because they feared the Romans would arrest them for disturbing the peace and for mob violence. They would let the Roman officials take care of the matter from this point on.

[21:33]  ²¹¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:33]  ²¹² tn Grk “seized.”

[21:33]  ²¹³ tn The two chains would be something like handcuffs (BDAG 48 s.v. ἅλυσις and compare Acts 28:20).

[21:33]  ²¹⁴ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been replaced with a semicolon. “Then” has been supplied after “he” to clarify the logical sequence.

[21:33]  ²¹⁵ tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”

[21:34]  ²¹⁴ tn L&N 33.77 has “ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλο τι ἐπεφώνουν ἐν τῷ ὄχλῳ ‘some in the crowd shouted one thing; others, something else’ Ac 21:34.”

[21:34]  ²¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ²¹⁶ tn This genitive absolute construction has been translated temporally; it could also be taken causally: “and since the commanding officer was unable to find out the truth.”

[21:34]  ²¹⁷ tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

[21:34]  ²¹⁸ tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

[21:34]  ²¹⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:34]  ²²⁰ 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.”

[21:35]  ²¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:35]  ²¹⁸ sn Paul had to be carried. Note how the arrest really ended up protecting Paul. The crowd is portrayed as irrational at this point.

[21:35]  ²¹⁹ tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).

[21:36]  ²²⁰ tn Grk “the multitude of people.” While πλῆθος (plhqo") is articular, it has been translated “a crowd” since it was probably a subset of the larger mob that gathered in v. 30.

[21:36]  ²²¹ tn The word “them” 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.

[21:37]  ²²³ 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.”

[21:37]  ²²⁴ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[21:37]  ²²⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

[21:37]  ²²⁶ tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

[21:37]  ²²⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:37]  ²²⁸ tn Grk “said.”

[21:37]  ²²⁹ sn “Do you know Greek?” Paul as an educated rabbi was bilingual. Paul’s request in Greek allowed the officer to recognize that Paul was not the violent insurrectionist he thought he had arrested (see following verse). The confusion of identities reveals the degree of confusion dominating these events.

[21:38]  ²²⁶ tn L&N 39.41 has “οὐκ ἄρα σὺ εἶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ὁ πρὸ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀναστατώσας ‘then you are not that Egyptian who some time ago started a rebellion’ Ac 21:38.”

[21:38]  ²²⁷ tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”

[21:38]  ²²⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[21:38]  ²²⁹ tn Grk “before these days.”

[21:39]  ²²⁹ tn Grk “said.”

[21:39]  ²³⁰ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[21:39]  ²³¹ 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]  ²³² tn Grk “I beg you.”

[21:40]  ²³² tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[21:40]  ²³³ 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]  ²³⁴ tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:40]  ²³⁵ tn Or “motioned.”

[21:40]  ²³⁶ 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]  ²³⁷ 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]  ²³⁸ 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]  ²³⁵ 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]  ²³⁶ 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]  ²³⁸ tn ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

[22:2]  ²³⁹ 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]  ²⁴⁰ tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See the note on “Aramaic” in 21:40.

[22:2]  ²⁴¹ 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]  ²⁴² tn BDAG 440 s.v. ἡσυχία 2 has “παρέχειν ἡσυχίαν quiet down, give a hearing…Ac 22:2.”

[22:2]  ²⁴³ 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.

[22:3]  ²⁴¹ tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

[22:3]  ²⁴² tn BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b has “of mental and spiritual nurture bring up, rear, train…ἀνατεθραμμένος ἐν τ. πόλει ταύτῃ 22:3.”

[22:3]  ²⁴³ tn Or “with precision.” Although often translated “strictly” this can be misunderstood for “solely” in English. BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκρίβεια gives the meaning as “exactness, precision.” To avoid the potential misunderstanding the translation “with strictness” is used, although it is slightly more awkward than “strictly.”

[22:3]  ²⁴⁴ tn Grk “strictly at the feet of” (an idiom).

[22:3]  ²⁴⁵ tn Or “brought up in this city under Gamaliel, educated with strictness…” The phrase παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ (para tou" poda" Gamalihl) could be understood with what precedes or with what follows. The punctuation of NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, which place a comma after ταύτῃ (tauth), has been followed in the translation.

[22:3]  ²⁴⁶ tn Or “our forefathers.”

[22:3]  ²⁴⁷ tn Grk “ancestors, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:3]  ²⁴⁸ tn BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.α has “of pers. …ζ. τοῦ θεοῦ one who is loyal to God Ac 22:3.”

[22:4]  ²⁴⁴ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ²⁴⁵ sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ²⁴⁶ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ²⁴⁷ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ²⁴⁸ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[22:5]  ²⁴⁷ tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”

[22:5]  ²⁴⁸ tn Grk “from whom.” 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.

[22:5]  ²⁴⁹ tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:5]  ²⁵⁰ tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.

[22:5]  ²⁵¹ tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.

[22:5]  ²⁵² tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”

[22:5]  ²⁵³ tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”

[22:6]  ²⁵⁰ tn Grk “It happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:6]  ²⁵¹ tn Grk “going and nearing Damascus.”

[22:6]  ²⁵² tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.b has “φῶς a very bright light Ac 22:6.”

[22:6]  ²⁵³ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[22:6]  ²⁵⁴ tn Or “shone.”

[22:7]  ²⁵³ tn This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”

[22:9]  ²⁵⁶ tn Grk “did not hear” (but see Acts 9:7). BDAG 38 s.v. ἀκούω 7 has “W. acc. τὸν νόμον understand the law Gal 4:21; perh. Ac 22:9; 26:14…belong here.” If the word has this sense here, then a metonymy is present, since the lack of effect is put for a failure to appreciate what was heard.

[22:10]  ²⁵⁹ tn Grk “So I said.”

[22:10]  ²⁶⁰ tn Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:10]  ²⁶¹ tn Grk “about all things.”

[22:10]  ²⁶² tn Or “assigned,” “ordered.” BDAG 991 s.v. τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by acc. w. inf.…περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι concerning everything that you have been ordered to do 22:10.” There is an allusion to a divine call and commission here.

[22:11]  ²⁶² tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.a has “οὐκ ἐνέβλεπον ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ φωτός I could not see because of the brilliance of the light Ac 22:11.”

[22:11]  ²⁶³ tn Or “brightness”; Grk “glory.”

[22:11]  ²⁶⁴ tn Grk “by” (ὑπό, Jupo), but this would be too awkward in English following the previous “by.”

[22:12]  ²⁶⁵ tn Grk “a certain Ananias.”

[22:12]  ²⁶⁶ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[22:12]  ²⁶⁷ tn BDAG 534 s.v. κατοικέω 1.a translates this present participle “ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν (sc. ἐκεῖ) κατοικούντων ᾿Ιουδαίων by all the Jews who live there Ac 22:12.”

[22:13]  ²⁶⁸ tn Grk “coming.” The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ²⁶⁹ tn Grk “coming to me and standing beside [me] said to me.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ²⁷⁰ tn Grk “Brother Saul, look up” (here an idiom for regaining one’s sight). BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβλέπω places this usage under 1, “look up Ac 22:13a. W. εἰς αὐτόν to show the direction of the glance…22:13b; but perh. this vs. belongs under 2a.” BDAG 59 s.v. 2.a.α states, “of blind persons, who were formerly able to see, regain sight.” The problem for the translator is deciding between the literal and the idiomatic usage and at the same time attempting to retain the wordplay in Acts 22:13: “[Ananias] said to me, ‘Look up!’ and at that very moment I looked up to him.” The assumption of the command is that the effort to look up will be worth it (through the regaining of sight).

[22:13]  ²⁷¹ tn Grk “hour,” but ὥρα (Jwra) is often used for indefinite short periods of time (so BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c: “αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ at that very time, at once, instantly…Lk 2:38, 24:33; Ac 16:18; 22:13”). A comparison with the account in Acts 9:18 indicates that this is clearly the meaning here.

[22:13]  ²⁷² tn Grk “I looked up to him.”

[22:14]  ²⁷¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[22:14]  ²⁷² tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance’…‘the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will’ Ac 22:14.”

[22:14]  ²⁷³ tn Grk “and to see.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[22:14]  ²⁷⁴ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14).

[22:14]  ²⁷⁵ tn Or “a solemn declaration”; Grk “a voice.” BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c states, “that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (… = order, command)…Cp. 22:14; 24:21.”

[22:15]  ²⁷⁴ tn Or “a witness to him.”

[22:15]  ²⁷⁵ tn Grk “all men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").

[22:16]  ²⁷⁷ tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”

[22:16]  ²⁷⁸ tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:16]  ²⁷⁹ sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).

[22:16]  ²⁸⁰ sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.

[22:17]  ²⁸⁰ tn Grk “It happened to me that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:17]  ²⁸¹ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἔκστασις 2 has “γενέσθαι ἐν ἐκστάσει fall into a trance Ac 22:17.”

[22:18]  ²⁸³ tn Or “Jesus”; Grk “him.” The referent (the Lord, cf. v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:19]  ²⁸⁶ tn Grk “And I said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai, in καγώ [kagw]) has not been translated here.

[22:19]  ²⁸⁷ tn For the distributive sense of the expression κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς (kata ta" sunagwga") BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d has “of places viewed serially, distributive use w. acc.…κατ᾿ οἶκαν from house to house…Ac 2:46b; 5:42…Likew. the pl.…κ. τὰς συναγωγάς 22:19.” See also L&N 37.114.

[22:20]  ²⁸⁹ sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.

[22:20]  ²⁹⁰ sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”

[22:20]  ²⁹¹ tn Grk “and approving.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[22:20]  ²⁹² tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:20]  ²⁹³ tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.

[22:21]  ²⁹² tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[22:22]  ²⁹⁵ tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ²⁹⁶ tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22]  ²⁹⁷ tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22]  ²⁹⁸ tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22]  ²⁹⁹ tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22]  ³⁰⁰ tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[22:23]  ²⁹⁸ tn The participle κραυγαζόντων (kraugazontwn) has been translated temporally.

[22:23]  ²⁹⁹ tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:23]  ³⁰⁰ sn The crowd’s act of tossing dust in the air indicated they had heard something disturbing and offensive. This may have been a symbolic gesture, indicating Paul’s words deserved to be thrown to the wind, or it may have simply resulted from the fact they had nothing else to throw at him at the moment.

[22:24]  ³⁰¹ 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.

[22:24]  ³⁰² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:24]  ³⁰³ 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.”

[22:24]  ³⁰⁴ tn Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.

[22:24]  ³⁰⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:24]  ³⁰⁶ sn To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.

[22:24]  ³⁰⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:24]  ³⁰⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:25]  ³⁰⁴ tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν. – Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”

[22:25]  ³⁰⁵ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:25]  ³⁰⁶ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:25]  ³⁰⁷ tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[22:26]  ³⁰⁷ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:26]  ³⁰⁸ tn The word “this” 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.

[22:26]  ³⁰⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:26]  ³¹⁰ tn The word “it” 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.

[22:26]  ³¹¹ tn Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although BDAG 627 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.α lists this phrase under the category “be about to, be on the point of,” it is possible it belongs under 1.c.γ, “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?”

[22:26]  ³¹² tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:27]  ³¹⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:27]  ³¹¹ tn Grk “and said to.”

[22:27]  ³¹² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:27]  ³¹³ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:27]  ³¹⁴ tn Grk “He said.”

[22:28]  ³¹³ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:28]  ³¹⁴ sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.

[22:28]  ³¹⁵ tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”

[22:28]  ³¹⁶ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:28]  ³¹⁷ tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:29]  ³¹⁶ tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep away…ἀπό τινος… Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8…cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.

[22:29]  ³¹⁷ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:29]  ³¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:29]  ³¹⁹ tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.

[22:29]  ³²⁰ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:29]  ³²¹ sn Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28-29; 24:22; 25:20, 26-27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.

[22:30]  ³¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[22:30]  ³²⁰ tn Grk “the certainty, why.” BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2 has “τὸ ἀ. the certainty = the truth (in ref. to ferreting out the facts…ἵνα τὸ ἀ. ἐπιγνῶ) γνῶναι 21:34; 22:30.”

[22:30]  ³²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:30]  ³²² tn Grk “the whole Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[22:30]  ³²³ tn Grk “and bringing.” The participle καταγαγών (katagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to clarify the logical sequence.