22:27a

Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?: The first clause is a command. The last clause is the question. In some languages it is more natural to make the two clauses into two sentences. For example:

Tell me. Are you a Roman citizen?

Tell me: This command demands that Paul reply. Other ways to translate this clause are:

You must answer me.
-or-
Answer me.

The commander was not being rude here. In some languages a literal translation would be rude. If that is true in your language, you may want to make the command a polite request. For example:

Please answer me.

are you a Roman citizen?: This is a real question. The commander wanted to hear for himself what Paul said.

22:27b

“Yes,” he answered: The Berean Standard Bible placed the phrase he answered after the spoken word Yes. Place it where it would be most natural in your language.

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