Kisah Para Rasul 21:18-22

21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. ¹  21:19 When Paul ²  had greeted them, he began to explain ³  in detail ⁴  what God ⁵  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ⁶  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ⁷  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ⁸  of the law. ⁹  21:21 They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ¹⁰  among the Gentiles to abandon ¹¹  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ¹²  or live ¹³  according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt ¹⁴  hear that you have come.

Kisah Para Rasul 21:27-30

21:27 When the seven days were almost over, ¹⁵  the Jews from the province of Asia ¹⁶  who had seen him in the temple area ¹⁷  stirred up the whole crowd ¹⁸  and seized ¹⁹  him, 21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, ²⁰  help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, ²¹  and this sanctuary! ²²  Furthermore ²³  he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple ²⁴  and made this holy place ritually unclean!” ²⁵  21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ²⁶  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ²⁷  21:30 The whole city was stirred up, ²⁸  and the people rushed together. ²⁹  They seized ³⁰  Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, ³¹  and immediately the doors were shut.

[21:18]  ¹ tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.”

[21:18]  sn All the elders were there. This meeting shows how the Jerusalem church still regarded Paul and his mission with favor, but also with some concerns because of the rumors circulating about his actions.

[21:19]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ³ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ⁴ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ⁵ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[21:20]  ⁶ tn Or “glorified.”

[21:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

[21:20]  sn How many thousands of Jews. See Acts 2-5 for the accounts of their conversion, esp. 2:41 and 4:4. Estimates of the total number of Jews living in Jerusalem at the time range from 20,000 to 50,000.

[21:20]  ⁸ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

[21:20]  ⁹ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

[21:21]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 511 s.v. κατά B.1.a has “τοὺς κ. τὰ ἔθνη ᾿Ιουδαίους the Judeans (dispersed) throughout the nations 21:21.” The Jews in view are not those in Palestine, but those who are scattered throughout the Gentile world.

[21:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “to forsake,” “to rebel against.” BDAG 120 s.v. ἀποστασία has “ἀποστασίαν διδάσκεις ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως you teach (Judeans) to abandon Moses Ac 21:21.”

[21:21]  sn The charge that Paul was teaching Jews in the Diaspora to abandon Moses was different from the issue faced in Acts 15, where the question was whether Gentiles needed to become like Jews first in order to become Christians. The issue also appears in Acts 24:5-6, 13-21; 25:8.

[21:21]  ¹² sn That is, not to circumcise their male children. Biblical references to circumcision always refer to male circumcision.

[21:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “or walk.”

[21:22]  ¹⁴ tn L&N 71.16 has “pertaining to being in every respect certain – ‘certainly, really, doubtless, no doubt.’…‘they will no doubt hear that you have come’ Ac 21:22.”

[21:27]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 975 s.v. συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over…Ac 21:27.”

[21:27]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[21:27]  sn Note how there is a sense of Paul being pursued from a distance. These Jews may well have been from Ephesus, since they recognized Trophimus the Ephesian (v. 29).

[21:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:27]  ¹⁸ tn Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὄχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’”

[21:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and laid hands on.”

[21:28]  ²⁰ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[21:28]  ²¹ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:28]  ²² tn Grk “this place.”

[21:28]  sn This sanctuary refers to the temple. The charges were not new, but were similar to those made against Stephen (Acts 6:14) and Jesus (Luke 23:2).

[21:28]  ²³ tn BDAG 400 s.v. ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore…al. ἔ. τε καί…Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁴ tn Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.

[21:28]  ²⁵ tn Or “and has defiled this holy place.”

[21:28]  sn Has brought Greeks…unclean. Note how the issue is both religious and ethnic, showing a different attitude by the Jews. A Gentile was not permitted to enter the inner temple precincts (contrast Eph 2:11-22). According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.5 [15.417]; J. W. 5.5.2 [5.193], cf. 5.5.6 [5.227]), the inner temple courts (the Court of the Women, the Court of the Sons of Israel, and the Court of the Priests) were raised slightly above the level of the Court of the Gentiles and were surrounded by a wall about 5 ft (1.5 m) high. Notices in both Greek and Latin (two of which have been discovered) warned that any Gentiles who ventured into the inner courts would be responsible for their own deaths. See also Philo, Embassy 31 (212). In m. Middot 2:3 this wall was called “soreq” and according to m. Sanhedrin 9:6 the stranger who trespassed beyond the soreq would die by the hand of God.

[21:29]  ²⁶ tn Grk “whom.”

[21:29]  ²⁷ tn On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.

[21:29]  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The note explains the cause of the charge and also notes that it was false.

[21:30]  ²⁸ tn On this term see BDAG 545 s.v. κινέω 2.b.

[21:30]  ²⁹ tn Or “the people formed a mob.” BDAG 967 s.v. συνδρομή has “formation of a mob by pers. running together, running together…ἐγένετο σ. τοῦ λαοῦ the people rushed together Ac 21:30.”

[21:30]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[21:30]  ³¹ tn Grk “out of the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. 28.