Acts 23:12–31

Footnotes

1. 43 Grk “when it was day.”
2. 44 Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poiēsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
3. 45 L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean—2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).
4. 46 Or “bound themselves under a curse.” ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “ put under a curse τινά someone … pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14 … ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see Shevi’it 3:1–5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
5. 47 The word “anything” 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.
6. 48 L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunōmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators—‘conspiracy, plot.’ … ‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”
7. 49 Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
8. 50 Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9. 51 They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.
10. 52 Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “ put under a curse τινά someone … pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14 … ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see Nedarim 3:1, 3.
11. 53 This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).
12. 54 Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
13. 55 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
14. 56 Or “decide.” διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”
15. 57 Grk “determine the things about him.”
16. 58 The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).
17. 59 “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.
18. 60 The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
19. 61 Or “plot” ( ἐνέδρα).
20. 62 Grk “coming and entering …, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomenos) and εἰσελθών (eiselthōn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
21. 63 Or “the headquarters.” παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
22. 64 Grk “calling … Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
23. 65 See the note on the word centurion in .
24. 66 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
25. 67 Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26. 68 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
27. 69 Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
28. 70 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
29. 71 Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.
30. 72 Grk “He said.”
31. 73 Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
32. 74 Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mē peisthēs autois) has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.
33. 75 Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autōn andres) “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.
34. 76 Grk “are lying in wait for him” ( ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.
35. 77 Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
36. 78 Or “bound themselves under a curse.” ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “ put under a curse τινά someone … ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”
37. 79 The word “anything” 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.
38. 80 Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”
39. 81 Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. .
40. 82 παραγγέλλω has “to make an announcement about someth. that must be done, give orders, command, instruct, direct of all kinds of persons in authority, worldly rulers, Jesus, the apostles … παραγγέλλειν an inf. and μή comes to mean forbid to do someth.: π. τινί aor. inf. Lk 5:14; 8:56; without the , which is easily supplied fr. the context Ac 23:22.” However, if the direct discourse which follows is to be retained in the translation, a different translation must be used since it is awkward to introduce direct discourse with the verb to forbid. Thus the alternative to direct was used.
41. 83 On this verb, see ἐμφανίζω 2. The term was frequently used of an official report to authorities. In modern terms, this was a police tip.
42. 84 Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to the reported ambush, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
43. 85 Grk “summoning … he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
44. 86 See the note on the word centurion in .
45. 87 Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in . This was a journey of about 65 mi (just over 100 km). For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
46. 88 Or “cavalrymen.”
47. 89 A military technical term of uncertain meaning. δεξιολάβος states, “a word of uncertain mng., military t.t., to Joannes Lydus … and Theophyl. Sim., Hist. 4, 1 a light-armed soldier, perh. bowman, slinger; to a scholion in CMatthaei p. 342 body-guard.… Spearman Goodspd., ; ‘security officer’, GDKilpatrick, 14, ’63, 393f.” Two hundred soldiers … along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen. The resulting force assembled to guard Paul was almost a full cohort. The Roman commander was taking no chances, but was sending the issue up the chain of command to the procurator to decide.
48. 90 Grk “from.”
49. 91 Grk “from the third hour of the night.”
50. 92 Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.” Mounts for Paul to ride. The fact they were riding horses indicates they wanted everyone to move as quickly as possible.
51. 93 Felix the governor was Antonius Felix, a freedman of Antonia, mother of the Emperor Claudius. He was the brother of Pallas and became procurator of Palestine in a.d. 52/53. His administration was notorious for its corruption, cynicism, and cruelty. According to the historian Tacitus (History 5.9) Felix “reveled in cruelty and lust, and wielded the power of a king with the mind of a slave.”
52. 94 Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” ( ἡγεμών 2).
53. 95 Grk “writing.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation, supplying “he” (referring to the commanding officer, Claudius Lysias) as subject. The participle γράψας (grapsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
54. 96 Grk “having this form,” “having this content.” L&N 33.48 has “γράψσς ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον ‘then he wrote a letter that went like this’ Ac 23:25. It is also possible to understand ἐπιστολή in Ac 23:25 not as a content or message, but as an object (see 6.63).”
55. 97 Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” ( ἡγεμών 2).
56. 98 Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. .
57. 99 The participle συλλημφθέντα (sullēmphthenta) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The remark reviews events of Acts 21:27–40.
58. 100 Grk “and was about to be killed by them.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.
59. 101 Or “approached.”
60. 102 Normally this term means “army,” but according to στράτευμα, “Of a smaller detachment of soldiers, sing. Ac 23:10, 27.” In the plural it can be translated “troops,” but it is singular here.
61. 103 In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.
62. 104 The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity. The letter written by the Roman commander Claudius Lysias was somewhat self-serving. He made it sound as if the rescue of a Roman citizen had been a conscious act on his part. In fact, he had made the discovery of Paul’s Roman citizenship somewhat later. See Acts 21:37–39 and 22:24–29.
63. 105 Or “determine.”
64. 106 Grk “to know the charge on account of which they were accusing him.” This has been simplified to eliminate the prepositional phrase and relative pronoun διʼ ἢν (di’ hēn) similar to L&N 27.8 which has “ ‘I wanted to find out what they were accusing him of, so I took him down to their Council’ Ac 23:28.”
65. 107 Grk “their Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
66. 108 Grk “whom I found.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been changed to a personal pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at this point.
67. 109 ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument … Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.… 18:15; 25:19.—In 23:29, since περί had already been used, the subj. of the discussion is added in the ζ. τοῦ νόμου αὐτῶν.” With reference to controversial questions. Note how the “neutral” Roman authorities saw the issue. This was a religious rather than a civil dispute. See Acts 18:15.
68. 110 Grk “but having no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.” ἔγκλημα 1 has “legal t.t.… ἔ. ἄξιον θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν a charge deserving death or imprisonment 23:29.” Despite the official assessment that no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment, there was no effort to release Paul.
69. 111 Grk “It being revealed to me.” The participle μηνυθείσης (mēnutheisēs) has been taken temporally.
70. 112 The term translated “plot” here is a different one than the one in Acts 23:16 (see ἐπιβουλή).
71. 113 Grk “the things against him.” This could be rendered as “accusations,” “grievances,” or “charges,” but since “ordered his accusers to state their accusations” sounds redundant in English, “charges” was used instead.
72. 114 διατάσσω 2 has “κατὰ τὸ δ. αὐτοῖς in accordance their orders … Ac 23:31.”
73. 115 Grk “taking.” The participle ἀναλαβόντες (analabontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
74. 116 Antipatris was a city in Judea about 35 mi (55 km) northwest of Jerusalem (about halfway to Caesarea). It was mentioned several times by Josephus ( 13.15.1 [13.390]; 1.4.7 [1.99]).