^22:22The crowd⁷³ was listening to him until he said this.⁷⁴ Then⁷⁵ they raised their voices and shouted,⁷⁶ “Away with this man⁷⁷ from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”⁷⁸^22:23While they were screaming⁷⁹ and throwing off their cloaks⁸⁰ and tossing dust⁸¹ in the air, ^22:24the commanding officer⁸² ordered Paul⁸³ to be brought back into the barracks.⁸⁴ He told them⁸⁵ to interrogate Paul⁸⁶ by beating him with a lash⁸⁷ so that he could find out the reason the crowd⁸⁸ was shouting at Paul⁸⁹ in this way. ^22:25When they had stretched him out for the lash,⁹⁰ Paul said to the centurion⁹¹ standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen⁹² without a proper trial?”⁹³^22:26When the centurion⁹⁴ heard this,⁹⁵ he went to the commanding officer⁹⁶ and reported it,⁹⁷ saying, “What are you about to do?⁹⁸ For this man is a Roman citizen.”⁹⁹^22:27So the commanding officer¹⁰⁰ came and asked¹⁰¹ Paul,¹⁰² “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”¹⁰³ He replied,¹⁰⁴ “Yes.” ^22:28The commanding officer¹⁰⁵ answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”¹⁰⁶ “But I was even¹⁰⁷ born a citizen,”¹⁰⁸ Paul replied.¹⁰⁹^22:29Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away¹¹⁰ from him, and the commanding officer¹¹¹ was frightened when he realized that Paul¹¹² was¹¹³ a Roman citizen¹¹⁴ and that he had had him tied up.¹¹⁵

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Footnotes

73 Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
74 Grk “until this word.” Until he said this. Note it is the mention of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles with its implication of ethnic openness that is so disturbing to the audience.
75 Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.
76 Grk “and said.”
77 Grk “this one.”
78 καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting … Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone) … foll. by and inf.… οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”
79 The participle κραυγαζόντων (kraugazontōn) has been translated temporally.
80 Or “outer garments.” Their cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (perhaps in this case as preparation for throwing stones).
81 The crowd’s act of tossing dust in the air indicated they had heard something disturbing and offensive. This may have been a symbolic gesture, indicating Paul’s words deserved to be thrown to the wind, or it may have simply resulted from the fact they had nothing else to throw at him at the moment.
82 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (chiliarchos) 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.
83 Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
84 Or “the headquarters.” παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
85 Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.
86 Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
87 To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.
88 Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
89 Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
90 Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν.—Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”
91 See the note on the word centurion in .
92 The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
93 Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage. The fact that Paul was a Roman citizen protected him from being tortured to extract information; such protections were guaranteed by the Porcian and Julian law codes. In addition, the fact Paul had not been tried exempted him from punishment.
94 See the note on the word centurion in .
95 The word “this” 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.
96 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
97 The word “it” 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.
98 Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although μέλλω 1.c.α lists this phrase under the category “be about to, be on the point of,” it is possible it belongs under 1.c.γ, “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind … τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?”
99 The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
100 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
101 Grk “and said to.”
102 Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
103 The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
104 Grk “He said.”
105 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
106 Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4–9). That may well have been the case here.
107 καί 2.b has “intensive: even … Ac 5:39; 22:28.”
108 The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity. Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.
109 Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.
110 ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep away … ἀπό τινος … Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8 … cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.
111 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
112 Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
113 This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.
114 The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
115 Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28–29; 24:22; 25:20, 26–27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.