Acts 21:31-40

21:31 While they were trying¹ to kill him, a report² was sent up³ to the commanding officer⁴ of the cohort⁵ that all Jerusalem was in confusion.⁶ 21:32 He⁷ immediately took⁸ soldiers and centurions⁹ and ran down to the crowd.¹⁰ When they saw¹¹ the commanding officer¹² and the soldiers, they stopped beating¹³ Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer¹⁴ came up and arrested¹⁵ him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains;¹⁶ he¹⁷ then asked who he was and what¹⁸ he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else,¹⁹ and when the commanding officer²⁰ was unable²¹ to find out the truth²² because of the disturbance,²³ he ordered Paul²⁴ to be brought into the barracks.²⁵ 21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul²⁶ had to be carried²⁷ by the soldiers because of the violence²⁸ of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people²⁹ followed them,³⁰ screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,³¹ he said³² to the commanding officer,³³ “May I say³⁴ something to you?” The officer³⁵ replied,³⁶ “Do you know Greek?³⁷ 21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion³⁸ and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’³⁹ into the wilderness⁴⁰ some time ago?”⁴¹ 21:39 Paul answered,⁴² “I am a Jew⁴³ from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.⁴⁴ Please⁴⁵ allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer⁴⁶ had given him permission,⁴⁷ Paul stood⁴⁸ on the steps and gestured⁴⁹ to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,⁵⁰ he addressed⁵¹ them in Aramaic,⁵²

¹tn Grk “seeking.”

²tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).

³tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.

⁴tn 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.

⁵sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.

⁶tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”

⁷tn 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.

⁸tn Grk “taking…ran down.” The participle κατέδραμεν (katedramen) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁹sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

¹⁰tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹tn Grk “seeing.” The participle ἰδόντες (idonte") has been taken temporally.

¹²tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

¹³sn 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.

¹⁴tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.

¹⁵tn Grk “seized.”

¹⁶tn The two chains would be something like handcuffs (BDAG 48 s.v. ἅλυσις and compare Acts 28:20).

¹⁷tn 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.

¹⁸tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”

¹⁹tn 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.”

²⁰tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹tn 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.”

²²tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).

²³tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).

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

²⁵tn 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.”

²⁶tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷sn Paul had to be carried. Note how the arrest really ended up protecting Paul. The crowd is portrayed as irrational at this point.

²⁸tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).

²⁹tn 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.

³⁰tn 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.

³¹tn 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.”

³²tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

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

³⁴tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).

³⁵tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁶tn Grk “said.”

³⁷sn “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.

³⁸tn 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.”

³⁹tn Grk “of the Sicarii.”

sn The term ‘Assassins’ is found several times in the writings of Josephus (J. W. 2.13.3 [2.254-257]; Ant. 20.8.10 [20.186]). It was the name of the most fanatical group among the Jewish nationalists, very hostile to Rome, who did not hesitate to assassinate their political opponents. They were named Sicarii in Latin after their weapon of choice, the short dagger or sicarius which could be easily hidden under one’s clothing. In effect, the officer who arrested Paul had thought he was dealing with a terrorist.

⁴⁰tn Or “desert.”

⁴¹tn Grk “before these days.”

⁴²tn Grk “said.”

⁴³tn Grk “a Jewish man.”

⁴⁴tn 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).

⁴⁵tn Grk “I beg you.”

⁴⁶tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁷tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁴⁸tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁴⁹tn Or “motioned.”

⁵⁰tn 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.”

⁵¹tn 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.”

⁵²tn 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.