Discovery BoxActs 21:11 
Context21:11 He came 1 to us, took 2 Paul’s belt, 3 tied 4 his own hands and feet with it, 5 and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over 6 to the Gentiles.’”
Acts 21:31-40
Context21:31 While they were trying 7 to kill him, a report 8 was sent up 9 to the commanding officer 10 of the cohort 11 that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 12 21:32 He 13 immediately took 14 soldiers and centurions 15 and ran down to the crowd. 16 When they saw 17 the commanding officer 18 and the soldiers, they stopped beating 19 Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer 20 came up and arrested 21 him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; 22 he 23 then asked who he was and what 24 he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, 25 and when the commanding officer 26 was unable 27 to find out the truth 28 because of the disturbance, 29 he ordered Paul 30 to be brought into the barracks. 31 21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul 32 had to be carried 33 by the soldiers because of the violence 34 of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people 35 followed them, 36 screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, 37 he said 38 to the commanding officer, 39 “May I say 40 something to you?” The officer 41 replied, 42 “Do you know Greek? 43 21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion 44 and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’ 45 into the wilderness 46 some time ago?” 47 21:39 Paul answered, 48 “I am a Jew 49 from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. 50 Please 51 allow me to speak to the people.” 21:40 When the commanding officer 52 had given him permission, 53 Paul stood 54 on the steps and gestured 55 to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, 56 he addressed 57 them in Aramaic, 58
1 tn Grk “And coming.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
2 tn Grk “and taking.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
3 sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).
4 tn The participle δήσας (dhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
5 tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
6 tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).
sn The Jews…will tie up…and will hand him over. As later events will show, the Jews in Jerusalem did not personally tie Paul up and hand him over to the Gentiles, but their reaction to him was the cause of his arrest (Acts 21:27-36).
7 tn Grk “seeking.”
8 tn Or “information” (originally concerning a crime; BDAG 1050 s.v. φάσις).
9 tn Grk “went up”; this verb is used because the report went up to the Antonia Fortress where the Roman garrison was stationed.
10 tn 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.
11 sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion.
12 tn BDAG 953 s.v. συγχέω has “Pass. w. act.force be in confusion…ὅλη συγχύννεται ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ 21:31.”
13 tn 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.
14 tn Grk “taking…ran down.” The participle κατέδραμεν (katedramen) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
15 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
16 tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Grk “seeing.” The participle ἰδόντες (idonte") has been taken temporally.
18 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.
19 sn 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.
20 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.
21 tn Grk “seized.”
22 tn The two chains would be something like handcuffs (BDAG 48 s.v. ἅλυσις and compare Acts 28:20).
23 tn 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.
24 tn Grk “and what it is”; this has been simplified to “what.”
25 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.”
26 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 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.”
28 tn Or “find out what had happened”; Grk “the certainty” (BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2).
29 tn Or “clamor,” “uproar” (BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος).
30 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 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.”
32 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 sn Paul had to be carried. Note how the arrest really ended up protecting Paul. The crowd is portrayed as irrational at this point.
34 tn This refers to mob violence (BDAG 175 s.v. βία b).
35 tn 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.
36 tn 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.
37 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.”
38 tn Grk “says” (a historical present).
39 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers) See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 31.
40 tn Grk “Is it permitted for me to say” (an idiom).
41 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the officer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Grk “said.”
43 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.
44 tn 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.”
45 tn 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.
46 tn Or “desert.”
47 tn Grk “before these days.”
48 tn Grk “said.”
49 tn Grk “a Jewish man.”
50 tn 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).
51 tn Grk “I beg you.”
52 tn The referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.
53 tn Grk “Giving him permission.” The participle ἐπιτρέψαντος (epitreyanto") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
54 tn Grk “standing.” The participle ἑστώς (Jestws) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
55 tn Or “motioned.”
56 tn 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.”
57 tn 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.”
58 tn 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.
