Acts 18:20-22

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 18:20 sn He would not consent. Paul probably refused because he wanted to reach Jerusalem for the festival season before the seas became impassable during the winter.
2. Acts 18:21 tn Or “but took leave of.”
3. Acts 18:21 tn Grk “and saying”; the participle εἰπών (eipōn) has been translated as “added” rather than “said” to avoid redundancy with the previous “said farewell.” The participle εἰπών has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
4. Acts 18:21 tn Or “will return.”
5. Acts 18:21 tn The participle θέλοντος (thelontos), a genitive absolute construction, has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle. Again Paul acts in dependence on God.
6. Acts 18:21 tn A new sentence was begun here in the translation due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the requirements of contemporary English style, which generally uses shorter sentences.
7. Acts 18:22 tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…εἴς τι at someth. a harbor Ac 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”
8. Acts 18:22 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. This was a sea voyage of 620 mi (990 km).
9. Acts 18:22 tn Grk “going up and greeting.” The participles ἀναβάς (anabas) and ἀσπασάμενος (aspasamenos) are translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
10. Acts 18:22 tn The words “at Jerusalem” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the participle ἀναβάς (anabas). The expression “go up” refers almost exclusively to the direction of Jerusalem, while the corresponding “go down” (κατέβη, katebē) refers to directions away from Jerusalem. Both expressions are based on a Hebrew idiom. Assuming Jerusalem is meant, this is another indication of keeping that key church informed. If Jerusalem is not referred to here, then Caesarea is in view. Paul was trying to honor a vow, which also implies a visit to Jerusalem.
11. Acts 18:22 sn Went down to Antioch. The city of Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude). This marks the end of the second missionary journey which began in Acts 15:36. From Caesarea to Antioch is a journey of 280 mi (450 km).