Section 23:23–35
Roman soldiers escorted Paul to Caesarea
In this section, the Roman commander knew that he was responsible to guard Paul so that he would remain safe. He knew that some men plotted to kill Paul. So he sent Paul to the Roman governor, Felix, in the city of Caesarea. He sent a large number of soldiers to protect Paul while they traveled there.
The commander also wrote a letter for the soldiers to give to Felix. The letter explained what had happened but the commander changed parts of the story to make Felix think well of him. The commander also said that he did not believe Paul had committed any crime against Roman law.
The soldiers brought Paul safely to Felix in Caesarea. After reading the letter, Felix asked Paul what province he was from. Paul told him that he was from Cilicia. Felix agreed to hear Paul’s case and judge it since the events took place in his province.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul Moved to Caesarea (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Paul Is Sent to Governor Felix (Good News Translation)
-or-
Roman soldiers brought Paul safely to the governor at Caesarea
Paragraph 23:23–24
23:23a-b
two of his centurions: The commander ruled over six to ten centurions. The commander chose two of them to take Paul to Caesarea.
centurions: This word refers to first level officers in the Roman army. Each one usually led one hundred soldiers. Translate this word as you did in 10:1 or 23:17.
23:23c
horsemen: Here the word horsemen refers to soldiers who ride on horses. For example:
cavalry (New Jerusalem Bible)
spearmen: The meaning of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as spearmen is uncertain. A literal translation is “taking in the right hand.” The Latin (Vulgate) translation (about 400 years after Jesus’ birth) translates it as spearmen. Other ways to translate this word are:
soldiers with spears
-or-
soldiers who use spears
23:23d
to go to Caesarea: Jerusalem is up in the Judean hills at about 760 meters (2,500 feet) in elevation, and Caesarea is on the sea coast. It is a journey of about 120 kilometers (75 miles) and usually took two days.
In some languages it is important to indicate going uphill or downhill. If that is true in your language, you may want to translate the meaning of “downhill” here. For example:
go ⌊down⌋ to Caesarea
Caesarea: Caesarea was a city on the Mediterranean coast of the province of Judea. The Roman ruler of the province, governor Felix (23:24), lived in Caesarea. See how you spelled this name in 8:40 or 21:8.
in the third hour of the night: This phrase in Greek is literally “from the third hour of the night.” It indicates that the soldiers would leave the barracks with Paul three hours after sunset. Sunset at that time of year (June or July) in Jerusalem is about 7:40. The Romans counted twelve hours between sunset and sunrise (about 5:40), which at this time of year would be shorter than the modern definition of a “hour.” So the third hour of the night would be about 10:00 p.m. (22:00). If possible, you should translate literally, as the Berean Standard Bible has done, rather than use the modern time. For example:
At the third hour of the night (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
three hours after sunset
But many English versions translate this phrase as:
nine o’clock
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