Section 28:17–31

Paul arrived in Rome and preached the gospel

In this section, Paul met with the leading Jews living in Rome. He explained that he had not caused any trouble against the Jewish people or against Jewish customs, but the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had created trouble for him. He explained that the trouble was regarding the hope that all Jews had, that God would send the Messiah/Christ. Paul believed that Jesus was the Messiah/Christ.

The Jews living in Rome had not received any report or letter regarding him and wanted to hear what he had to say. Some days later Paul explained from Scripture (at that time, the Old Testament) why Jesus was the Messiah. Some Jews accepted his message and believed in Jesus. Paul warned the other Jews not to reject this good news about Jesus. He also said that God offers this salvation to the Gentiles also. Some of them would listen and believe in Jesus.

For two years Paul waited for his time to stand before Caesar. During that time, he boldly preached that people should believe in Jesus. The book of Acts ends with Paul preaching and teaching unhindered.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Paul Preaches at Rome Under Guard (New International Version)
-or-
Paul in Rome (English Standard Version)

Paragraph 28:17–20

28:17a

he called together the leaders of the Jews: The Greek verb indicates that Paul asked the leaders to come to him. The Roman authority may have restricted Paul to staying near his house. For example:

Paul invited the most influential Jews in Rome to meet with him (God’s Word)

the leaders of the Jews: This phrase in Greek is literally “those being first of the Jews.” The word “first” refers to those who were most important among the Jews in Rome, namely the leaders and other men who had status and power in the Jewish community in Rome. Scholars believe that ten or eleven leaders were asked to come. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the local leaders of the Jews (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the most prominent men of the Jews ⌊in Rome⌋
-or-
the most influential Jews in Rome (God’s Word)

The phrase should be similar to the phrase in 25:2 (“Jewish leaders”), except that here the phrase refers only to important Jews in Rome.

28:17b

When they had gathered: This refers to gathering at the place where Paul was staying. Other ways to translate this clause are:

when they had assembled (New International Version)
-or-
when they arrived (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

28:17c–e

although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans: The word although indicates that the clause I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers is true. It also indicates that despite that being true, Paul was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. Other ways to indicate this connection are:

even though I did nothing against our people or the customs that we received from our ancestors, I was made a prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans (Good News Translation)
-or-
I never did anything against our people or against the customs of our forefathers; yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans (Revised English Bible)

28:17c

Brothers: This phrase in Greek is literally “”Men, brothers.” The address “Men” is a polite way to begin speaking to the Jewish leaders. These Jewish leaders were probably all men. The address Brothers indicates that Paul was also a Jew. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

Men, my brothers/relatives
-or-
My fellow Israelites (Good News Translation)

The address Brothers refers to fellow Jews, and it does not indicate that these Jews were believers in Jesus. You should not translate this in a way that refers to fellow Christians. See how you translated this phrase in 1:16 or 15:7, but remember Paul is addressing fellow Jews here, not fellow Christians.

I have done nothing against our people: The phrase our people refers to the Jews. This clause indicates that after Paul became a Christian he did not oppose the Jewish people in any way. Other ways to translate this are:

I have never done anything to hurt our people (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I have committed no crime against our fellow ⌊Jews⌋
-or-
I have done no wrong to our people ⌊the Jews⌋

28:17d

the customs of our fathers: This refers to the rules that Jews made long ago for living properly as a Jew. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the customs of our forefathers (Revised English Bible)
-or-
the ways of life of our ancestors
-or-
the ways that our ancestors behaved/lived

28:17e

I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans: The Greek words here are literally “a prisoner from Jerusalem I was delivered into the hands of the Romans.” This is a brief summary of some Jews trying to kill Paul in Jerusalem but Lysias coming and taking him from them and then sending him down to the Roman governor in Caesarea (21:27–23:35).

Paul used a passive clause to avoid referring specifically to the people who did these things. He clearly implied here the Jewish leaders living in Jerusalem, but politely did not name them to the Jewish leaders living in Rome. Some languages must use an active clause. If possible refer only generally to those who arrested Paul. For example:

⌊They⌋ arrested me in Jerusalem and put me into the hands of the Romans.
-or-

⌊Some people⌋ grabbed me in Jerusalem and gave me to the Romans for them to imprison me.
-or-

⌊Some people⌋ grabbed me in Jerusalem and caused me to be imprisoned by the Romans.

But if a general reference would imply someone different than the Jewish leaders (28:19), you should indicate the Jewish leaders here. For example:

⌊The Jewish leaders⌋ arrested me in Jerusalem and put me into the hands of the Romans.
-or-

⌊The Jews⌋ grabbed me in Jerusalem and gave me to the Romans for them to imprison me.
-or-

⌊The Jews⌋ grabbed me in Jerusalem and caused me to be imprisoned by the Romans.

It is also possible to use an intransitive verb (or verbs). For example:

I became a prisoner and ⌊they⌋ gave me to the Roman authorities

© 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.