Acts 12:10

12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, ¹  they came to the iron ²  gate leading into the city. It ³  opened for them by itself, ⁴  and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, ⁵  when at once the angel left him.

Acts 19:27

19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ⁶  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ⁷  will be regarded as nothing, ⁸  and she whom all the province of Asia ⁹  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ¹⁰ 

Acts 22:24

22:24 the commanding officer ¹¹  ordered Paul ¹²  to be brought back into the barracks. ¹³  He told them ¹⁴  to interrogate Paul ¹⁵  by beating him with a lash ¹⁶  so that he could find out the reason the crowd ¹⁷  was shouting at Paul ¹⁸  in this way.

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¹ tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

² sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

³ tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

⁴ tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

⁵ tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

⁶ tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”

⁷ sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.

⁸ tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”

⁹ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

¹⁰ tn Or “her magnificence.” BDAG 488 s.v. καθαιρέω 2.b has “καθαιρεῖσθαι τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτῆς suffer the loss of her magnificence Ac 19:27”; L&N 13.38 has “‘and to have her greatness done away with’ Ac 19:27.”

sn Suffer the loss of her greatness. It is important to appreciate that money alone was not the issue, even for the pagan Ephesians. The issue was ultimately the dishonor of their goddess to whom they were devoted in worship. The battle was a “cosmic” one between deities.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.