Paragraph 21:12–14

21:12a

When we heard this: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this is literally “these (things).” It refers back to what Agabus said. In some languages it is more natural to use “that.” For example:

When we heard that
-or-
When we heard those ⌊words⌋

21:12b

we and the people there: Here the phrase the people there refers to the believers from Caesarea who were present with Paul and the others at the time. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

we and the believers there
-or-
we and the local believers (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
we and the believers/disciples who lived there

pleaded with: The word pleaded means “to urge.” The Greek verb indicates that the people were urging Paul for some time. For example:

began to urge

Paul: This verse in Greek implies that they urged Paul, so the Berean Standard Bible adds his name. Many translations use the pronoun “him.”

go up to Jerusalem: 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 Luke 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:

go to Jerusalem (Good News Translation)

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