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The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22 The crowd[a] was listening to him until he said this.[b] Then[c] they raised their voices and shouted,[d] “Away with this man[e] from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”[f] 23 While they were screaming[g] and throwing off their cloaks[h] and tossing dust[i] in the air, 24 the commanding officer[j] ordered Paul[k] to be brought back into the barracks.[l] He told them[m] to interrogate Paul[n] by beating him with a lash[o] so that he could find out the reason the crowd[p] was shouting at Paul[q] in this way. 25 When they had stretched him out for the lash,[r] Paul said to the centurion[s] standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen[t] without a proper trial?”[u] 26 When the centurion[v] heard this,[w] he went to the commanding officer[x] and reported it,[y] saying, “What are you about to do?[z] For this man is a Roman citizen.”[aa] 27 So the commanding officer[ab] came and asked[ac] Paul,[ad] “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”[ae] He replied,[af] “Yes.” 28 The commanding officer[ag] answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”[ah] “But I was even[ai] born a citizen,”[aj] Paul replied.[ak] 29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away[al] from him, and the commanding officer[am] was frightened when he realized that Paul[an] was[ao] a Roman citizen[ap] and that he had had him tied up.[aq]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:22 tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  2. Acts 22:22 tn Grk “until this word.”sn 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.
  3. Acts 22:22 tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.
  4. Acts 22:22 tn Grk “and said.”
  5. Acts 22:22 tn Grk “such a one.”
  6. Acts 22:22 tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”
  7. Acts 22:23 tn The participle κραυγαζόντων (kraugazontōn) has been translated temporally.
  8. Acts 22:23 tn Or “outer garments.”sn 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).
  9. Acts 22:23 sn 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.
  10. Acts 22:24 tn 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.
  11. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Acts 22:24 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
  13. Acts 22:24 tn 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.
  14. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Acts 22:24 sn 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.
  16. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Acts 22:25 tn 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, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. 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).”
  19. Acts 22:25 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  20. Acts 22:25 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
  21. Acts 22:25 tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.sn 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.
  22. Acts 22:26 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  23. Acts 22:26 tn 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.
  24. Acts 22:26 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  25. Acts 22:26 tn 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.
  26. Acts 22:26 tn Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although BDAG 627 s.v. 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 mindτί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?
  27. Acts 22:26 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
  28. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  29. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “and said to.”
  30. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  31. Acts 22:27 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
  32. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “He said.”
  33. Acts 22:28 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  34. Acts 22:28 sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.
  35. Acts 22:28 tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: evenAc 5:39; 22:28.”
  36. Acts 22:28 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.sn Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.
  37. Acts 22:28 tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  38. Acts 22:29 tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep awayἀπό 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.
  39. Acts 22:29 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  40. Acts 22:29 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  41. Acts 22:29 tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.
  42. Acts 22:29 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
  43. Acts 22:29 sn 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.

Paul Questioned by the Military Tribune

22 Now they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voices, saying, “Away with such a man from the earth! For it is not fitting for him to live!” 23 And while[a] they were screaming and throwing off their[b] cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks,[c] saying he was to be examined with a lash so that he could find out for what reason they were crying out against him in this way. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the lash,[d] Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it permitted for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 And when[e] the centurion heard this,[f] he went to the military tribune and[g] reported it,[h] saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen!” 27 So the military tribune came and[i] said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 And the military tribune replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I indeed was born a citizen.[j] 29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him kept away from him, and the military tribune also was afraid when he[k] realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had tied him up.[l]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:23 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were screaming”)
  2. Acts 22:23 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  3. Acts 22:24 Or “headquarters”
  4. Acts 22:25 Or “with straps” (in order to lash him)
  5. Acts 22:26 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  6. Acts 22:26 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  7. Acts 22:26 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went to”) has been translated as a finite verb
  8. Acts 22:26 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  9. Acts 22:27 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb
  10. Acts 22:28 *The words “a citizen” are not in the Greek text but are implied
  11. Acts 22:29 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“realized”) which is understood as temporal
  12. Acts 22:29 Literally “he was having tied him up”