Discovery BoxActs 19:35 
Context19:35 After the city secretary 1 quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person 2 is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper 3 of the temple of the great Artemis 4 and of her image that fell from heaven? 5
Acts 21:24
Context21:24 take them and purify 6 yourself along with them and pay their expenses, 7 so that they may have their heads shaved. 8 Then 9 everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told 10 about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with 11 the law. 12
Acts 22:30
Context22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer 13 wanted to know the true reason 14 Paul 15 was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council 16 to assemble. He then brought 17 Paul down and had him stand before them.
1 tn Or “clerk.” The “scribe” (γραμματεύς, grammateu") was the keeper of the city’s records.
2 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").
3 tn See BDAG 670 s.v. νεωκόρος. The city is described as the “warden” or “guardian” of the goddess and her temple.
4 sn Artemis was 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.
5 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
sn The expression fell from heaven adds a note of apologetic about the heavenly origin of the goddess. The city’s identity and well-being was wrapped up with this connection, in their view. Many interpreters view her image that fell from heaven as a stone meteorite regarded as a sacred object.
6 sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).
7 tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”
8 tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”
sn Having their heads shaved probably involved ending a voluntary Nazirite vow (Num 6:14-15).
9 tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
10 tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).
11 tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”
12 sn The law refers to the law of Moses.
13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Grk “the certainty, why.” BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2 has “τὸ ἀ. the certainty = the truth (in ref. to ferreting out the facts…ἵνα τὸ ἀ. ἐπιγνῶ) γνῶναι 21:34; 22:30.”
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Grk “the whole Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
17 tn Grk “and bringing.” The participle καταγαγών (katagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to clarify the logical sequence.
