I lost no time (see Jerusalem Bible “I wasted no time”) must be understood in the sense of “I acted as quickly as I could.” In the Greek sentence the only finite verb is ordered, with all of the other verbal forms either participles or infinitives depending upon this main verb.

As in other contexts, an expression such as I sat in the judgment court may be rendered as “I took my place as judge.” Similarly, the final clause following the verb ordered may be put into the form of direct discourse: “ordered the soldiers, Bring the man in.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .