Acts 21:34

21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, ¹  and when the commanding officer ²  was unable ³  to find out the truth ⁴  because of the disturbance, ⁵  he ordered Paul ⁶  to be brought into the barracks. ⁷ 

Acts 21:37

21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, ⁸  he said ⁹  to the commanding officer, ¹⁰  “May I say ¹¹  something to you?” The officer ¹²  replied, ¹³  “Do you know Greek? ¹⁴ 

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¹ 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.”

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ 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.”

⁴ tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

⁵ tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ 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.”

⁸ 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.”

⁹ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

¹⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

¹¹ tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

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

¹³ tn Grk “said.”

¹⁴ 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.