Discovery BoxActs 24:10-16 
Context24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know 1 that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. 2 24:11 As you can verify 3 for yourself, not more than twelve days ago 4 I went up to Jerusalem 5 to worship. 24:12 They did not find me arguing 6 with anyone or stirring up a crowd 7 in the temple courts 8 or in the synagogues 9 or throughout the city, 10 24:13 nor can they prove 11 to you the things 12 they are accusing me of doing. 13 24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship 14 the God of our ancestors 15 according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law 16 and that is written in the prophets. 24:15 I have 17 a hope in God (a hope 18 that 19 these men 20 themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 21 24:16 This is the reason 22 I do my best to always 23 have a clear 24 conscience toward God and toward people. 25
1 tn Grk “knowing.” The participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistamenos) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
2 sn “Because…defense.” Paul also paid an indirect compliment to the governor, implying that he would be fair in his judgment.
3 tn BDAG 369 s.v. ἐπιγινώσκω 2.c has “notice, perceive, learn of, ascertain…Also as legal t.t. ascertain (2 Macc 14:9) τὶ Ac 23:28; cp. 24:8. W. ὅτι foll. Ac 24:11.” “Verify” is an English synonym for “ascertain.”
4 tn Grk “it is not more than twelve days from when.” This has been simplified to “not more than twelve days ago.”
sn Part of Paul’s defense is that he would not have had time to organize a revolt, since he had arrived in Jerusalem not more than twelve days ago.
5 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
6 tn Or “disputing,” “conducting a heated discussion.”
7 tn BDAG 381 s.v. ἐπίστασις 2 has “ἐ. ποιεῖν ὄχλου to cause a crowd to gather Ac 24:12.” Roman authorities would not allow a mob to gather and threaten the peace, and anyone suspected of instigating a mob would certainly be arrested.
8 tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.
9 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
10 sn A second part of Paul’s defense is that he did nothing while he was in Jerusalem to cause unrest, neither arguing nor stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city.
11 tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 1.f has “οὐδὲ παραστῆσαι δύνανταί σοι περὶ ὧν νυνὶ κατηγοροῦσίν μου nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me Ac 24:13.”
sn Nor can they prove. This is a formal legal claim that Paul’s opponents lacked proof of any wrongdoing. They had no witness who could justify the arrest at the temple.
12 tn The words “the things” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
13 tn Grk “nor can they prove to you [the things] about which they are now accusing me.” This has been simplified to eliminate the relative pronoun (“which”) in the translation.
14 tn Or “serve.”
15 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
16 sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.
17 tn Grk “having.” The participle ἔχων (ecwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.
18 sn This mention of Paul’s hope sets up his appeal to the resurrection of the dead. At this point Paul was ignoring the internal Jewish dispute between the Pharisees (to which he had belonged) and the Sadducees (who denied there would be a resurrection of the dead).
19 tn Grk “a hope in God (which these [men] themselves accept too).” Because the antecedent of the relative pronoun “which” is somewhat unclear in English, the words “a hope” have been repeated at the beginning of the parenthesis for clarity.
20 tn Grk “that they”; the referent (these men, Paul’s accusers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Or “the unjust.”
sn This is the only mention of the resurrection of the unrighteous in Acts. The idea parallels the idea of Jesus as the judge of both the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 17:31).
22 tn BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 9.a, “ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν this is the reason why we believe Jn 16:30; cp. Ac 24:16.”
23 tn BDAG 224 s.v. διά 2.a, “διὰ παντός…always, continually, constantly…Ac 2:25 (Ps 15:8); 10:2; 24:16.” However, the positioning of the adverb “always” in the English translation is difficult; the position used is one of the least awkward.
24 tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος 1 has “ἀ. συνείδησις a clear conscience Ac 24:16.”
25 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use (Paul does not have only males in view).
