Acts 21:19-20

21:19 When Paul ¹  had greeted them, he began to explain ²  in detail ³  what God ⁴  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ⁵  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ⁶  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ⁷  of the law. ⁸ 

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¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

³ 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.”

⁴ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

⁵ tn Or “glorified.”

⁶ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

sn How many thousands of Jews. See Acts 2-5 for the accounts of their conversion, esp. 2:41 and 4:4. Estimates of the total number of Jews living in Jerusalem at the time range from 20,000 to 50,000.

⁷ 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.”

⁸ 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).