Acts 9:23–30

Saul’s Escape from Damascus

9:23 Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted53 together to kill him, 9:24 but Saul learned of their plot against him.54 They were also watching55 the city gates56 day and night so that they could kill him. 9:25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening57 in the wall by lowering him in a basket.58

Saul Returns to Jerusalem

9:26 When he arrived in Jerusalem,59 he attempted to associate60 with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe61 that he was a disciple. 9:27 But Barnabas took62 Saul,63 brought64 him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that65 the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly66 in the name of Jesus. 9:28 So he was staying with them, associating openly with them67 in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 9:29 He was speaking and debating68 with the Greek-speaking Jews,69 but they were trying to kill him. 9:30 When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea70 and sent him away to Tarsus.

Read more Share

53	sn Fitting the pattern emphasized earlier with Stephen and his speech in Acts 7, some Jews plotted to kill God’s messenger (cf. Luke 11:53–54).
54	tn The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.
55	tn Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).
56	tn The word πύλη (pulē) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.
57	tn The opening in the wall is not specifically mentioned here, but the parallel account in 2 Cor 11:33 mentions a “window” or “opening” (θυρίς, thuris) in the city wall through which Paul was lowered. One alternative to introducing mention of the opening is to translate Acts 9:25 “they let him down over the wall,” as suggested in L&N 7.61. This option is not employed by many translations, however, because for the English reader it creates an (apparent) contradiction between Acts 9:25 and 2 Cor 11:33. In reality the account here is simply more general, omitting the detail about the window.
58	tn On the term for “basket” used here, see BDAG 940 s.v. σπυρίς.
59	map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
60	tn Or “join.”
61	tn The participle πιστεύοντες (pisteuontes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
62	tn Grk “taking Saul, brought him.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
63	tn Grk “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
64	tn Grk “and brought,” but 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.
65	tn Grk “and that,” but 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.
66	tn On this verb which is used 7 times in Acts, see BDAG 782 s.v. παρρησιάζομαι 1. See also v. 28.
67	tn Grk “he was with them going in and going out in Jerusalem.” The expression “going in and going out” is probably best taken as an idiom for association without hindrance. Some modern translations (NASB, NIV) translate the phrase “moving about freely in Jerusalem,” although the NRSV retains the literal “he went in and out among them in Jerusalem.”
68	tn Or “arguing.” BDAG 954 s.v. συζητέω 2 gives “dispute, debate, argue … τινί ‘w. someone’ ” for συνεζήτει (sunezētei).
69	tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.
70	sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine, south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. map For location see Map2-C1; Map4-B3; Map5-F2; Map7-A1; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

A service of Logos Bible Software