Section 21:37–22:21
Paul defended himself before the Jewish crowd
In this section, Paul spoke to the Roman commander using the Greek language. The commander was surprised that Paul knew Greek. He asked him if he was from Egypt and had earlier led a revolt. Paul replied that he was a Jew from Tarsus. He asked the commander to allow him to speak to the crowd. The commander allowed him to do that.
Paul spoke to the crowd using the Aramaic language. At this time the first language of the Jews was Aramaic. Paul told his history and training. He told how he used to persecute believers in Jesus. He described how he became a believer. He told the crowd that God sent him to tell the gospel to the Gentiles.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul Defends Himself (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Paul Speaks in His Own Defense (God’s Word)
-or-
Paul told the ⌊Jewish⌋ crowd about how he lived
Paragraph 21:37–39
21:37a
The context implies that the soldiers put Paul back on his feet here. In some languages it is better to indicate that in the translation. For example:
The soldiers ⌊put him down.⌋ As they were about to…
-or-
The soldiers ⌊put Paul back on his feet.⌋ As they were about to…
It is possible that the soldiers did not put Paul down until 21:40b (“Paul stood on the steps”). But this seems unlikely, because Paul felt safe enough from the mob to talk to the commander, so it was probably safe enough for the soldiers to put him down.
As they were about to take Paul into the barracks: This clause in Greek is literally “As he was about to be brought into the barracks.” It continues to focus on Paul here. For example:
As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks (Revised Standard Version)
However, the Greek clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the army building (New Century Version)
barracks: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as barracks means “a place where soldiers lived.” Here it refers to the stone fortress next to the temple. See how you translated this word in 21:34.
21:37b
he asked the commander: 21:37c indicates that Paul spoke Greek here. Some languages must indicate here that Paul spoke Greek here for the correct meaning. For example:
he asked the commander ⌊in Greek⌋
May I say something to you?: This clause in Greek is literally “If it is permitted for me to say something to you?” It is a polite request to speak with the commander. Other ways to translate this clause are:
If I am allowed to say something to you?
-or-
Would you allow me to say something to you?
-or-
I would like to say something to you. Will you permit me to?
-or-
There is something I would say to you please.
21:37c
“Do you speak Greek?” he replied: The Berean Standard Bible placed the phrase he replied after the spoken words. Place it where it would be most natural in your language. For example:
The officer replied, “Do you know Greek? (NET Bible)
Do you speak Greek?: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as speak is literally “know.” If Paul knew Greek, then he could speak it. For example:
Do you know Greek? (Revised Standard Version)
This is a rhetorical question. It means “Oh, you know Greek!” It implies that the commander was surprised that Paul knew Greek. Translate this clause with that meaning. Some ways are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
You speak Greek, do you? (Good News Translation)
• As a statement. For example:
So, you know Greek!
In some languages the idea of surprise must be indicated in the translation. For example:
⌊Surprised,⌋ he replied, “Do you know Greek?
© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.