18:22a–b
he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch: The phrases went up and went down imply that Paul went to Jerusalem. In some languages a literal translation would not imply that Paul went to Jerusalem. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• include the implied information in your translation. For example:
he went up ⌊to Jerusalem⌋ and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch
• explain the implied information in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Caesarea is beside the sea, Jerusalem is up in the mountains, and Antioch is in the lowlands. The phrases “went up” and “went down” imply that Paul went to the believers in Jerusalem, then went to Antioch.
18:22a
When Paul had landed at Caesarea: The word landed indicates that the ship arrived in the port of Caesarea and the people left the ship and went onto the land. For example:
he arrived at Caesarea (Good News Translation)
Caesarea: This name is spelled Kaisareia in the Greek language. It was a city on the Mediterranean coast of the province of Judea. Romans ruled Judea. It was the Roman capital of the province.
he went up: Caesarea is on the sea coast, and Jerusalem is up in the mountains at about 760 meters (2,500 feet) in elevation. It is a journey of about 120 kilometers (75 miles). So Paul used the Greek verb that refers to going up in elevation. In some languages it is more natural not to use the word up. For example:
he went to Jerusalem (Good News Translation)
greeted the church at Jerusalem: This clause refers to Paul greeting the believers in Jerusalem, including the leaders. He probably also exchanged news and talked about topics important to the believers. But the clause does not say what he did beyond greeting them. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate or imply that Paul only greeted them and did not talk with them. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Include the implied information in your translation. For example:
greeted the church ⌊and talked with them⌋
• Explain the implied information in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Paul probably also talked with the believers and their leaders in Jerusalem. But he did not stay long.
greeted: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as greeted refers to the words used in greeting and the usual ritual of greeting in general. See how you translated it in Matthew 5:47, Mark 9:15, or Luke 1:40.
church: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as church refers to a gathering of people that someone summoned for a particular purpose. Here as almost always in the NT, it refers to groups of believers who follow Jesus Christ.
In the Bible this word never refers to church buildings. You also should not use a word like “denomination” that refers to a group of churches separate from other groups. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
congregation
-or-
the believers
-or-
the gathering of believers
See how you translated this word in 5:11 or 15:3.
18:22b
he went down to Antioch: This was a journey of about 530 kilometers (330 miles). Jerusalem is at an elevation of about 760 meters (2,500 feet). Antioch is at an elevation of about 75 meters (245 feet). Someone walking this journey would probably walk a day in the Judean hills, then half a day going downhill to the coastal plains, then ten or more days walking the coastal plains to Antioch. In some languages it is more natural not to use the word down. For example:
went to Antioch (Good News Translation)
Antioch: The city of Antioch was in the province of Syria. It was the end of Paul’s second journey. Paul had lived here before (11:26, 13:1).
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