Acts 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, “They had us beaten in public without a proper trial – even though we are Roman citizens – and they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! They themselves must come and escort us out!”

Acts 28:23

28:23 They set a day to meet with him, 10  and they came to him where he was staying 11  in even greater numbers. 12  From morning until evening he explained things 13  to them, 14  testifying 15  about the kingdom of God 16  and trying to convince 17  them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.


tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

tn The word “us” 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.

tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

tn Grk “But they.”

sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.

tn Grk “Having set.” The participle ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

10 tn Grk “Having set a day with him”; the words “to meet” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

11 tn Or “came to him in his rented quarters.”

12 tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.β.ב states, “(even) more πλείονες in even greater numbers Ac 28:23.”

13 tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

14 tn Grk “to whom he explained.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation.

15 tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “to make a solemn declaration about the truth of someth. testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…Gods kingdom 28:23.”

16 sn Testifying about the kingdom of God. The topic is important. Paul’s preaching was about the rule of God and his promise in Jesus. Paul’s text was the Jewish scriptures.

17 tn Or “persuade.”