Kisah Para Rasul 24:17-21

24:17 After several years ¹  I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor ²  and to present offerings, ³  24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, ⁴  without a crowd or a disturbance. ⁵  24:19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia ⁶  who should be here before you and bring charges, ⁷  if they have anything against me. 24:20 Or these men here ⁸  should tell what crime ⁹  they found me guilty of ¹⁰  when I stood before the council, ¹¹  24:21 other than ¹²  this one thing ¹³  I shouted out while I stood before ¹⁴  them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’” ¹⁵ 

[24:17]  ¹ tn BDAG 401 s.v. ἔτος has “δι᾿ ἐ. πλειόνων after several years 24:17.”

[24:17]  ² tn Grk “to bring alms,” but the term “alms” is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “gifts for the poor,” is used instead.

[24:17]  ³ tn Or “sacrifices.” BDAG 887 s.v. προσφορά 1 has “προσφοράς ποιεῖν have sacrifices made Ac 24:17,” but this may be overly specific. It is not clear from the immediate context whether the offering of sacrificial animals (so BDAG assumes) or offerings of some other sort (such as financial gifts) are in view. The combination with ἐλεημοσύνας (elehmosuna") in the preceding clause may suggest monetary offerings. Some have suggested this is an allusion to the payments made by Paul on behalf of the four other men mentioned in Acts 21:23-26, but the text here seems to suggest something Paul had planned to do before he came, while the decision to pay for the expenses of the men in 21:23ff. was made at the suggestion of the Jerusalem leadership after he arrived. In either case, Paul was portraying himself as a pious worshiper of his God.

[24:18]  ⁴ sn Ritually purified. Paul’s claim here is that he was honoring the holiness of God by being sensitive to issues of ritual purity. Not only was he not guilty of the charges against him, but he was thoroughly devout.

[24:18]  ⁵ tn BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος 3.b has “μετὰ θορύβου…with a disturbance Ac 24:18.”

[24:19]  ⁶ 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.

[24:19]  ⁷ tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω (kathgorew), “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.’”

[24:19]  sn Who should be here…and bring charges. Paul was asking, where were those who brought about his arrest and claimed he broke the law? His accusers were not really present. This subtle point raised the issue of injustice.

[24:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “these [men] themselves.”

[24:20]  ⁹ tn Or “unrighteous act.”

[24:20]  ¹⁰ tn The words “me guilty of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. L&N 88.23 has “αὐτοὶ οὗτοι εἰπάτωσαν τί εὗρον ἀδίκημα στάντος μου ‘let these men themselves tell what unrighteous act they found me guilty of’ Ac 24:20.”

[24:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[24:21]  ¹² tn BDAG 433 s.v. ἤ 2.c has “οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἤ nothing else than…Ac 17:21. τί…ἤ what other…than…24:21.”

[24:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “one utterance.”

[24:21]  ¹⁴ tn Cf. BDAG 327 s.v. ἐν 1.e, which has “before, in the presence of, etc.”

[24:21]  ¹⁵ sn The resurrection of the dead. Paul’s point was, what crime was there in holding this religious belief?