Verses 32 and 33 serve to illustrate Paul’s humiliation and weakness. Another account of the story is provided by Luke in Acts 9.23-25, but here Paul furnishes some details not found there.
Some languages may require the translator to indicate whether Paul knew the governor and the king, but the Greek text gives no indication, though perhaps it would be surprising if Paul did know these rulers in a city where he did not live.
Damascus was a walled Syrian city ruled by the Romans through Arab governors. It is often mentioned in the Old Testament and in (Acts chapters 9, 22, and 26), and in Gal 1.17.
The governor is literally “the ethnarch” and is so translated by Moffatt, New American Bible, and others. The historical evidence is not conclusive, whether this ethnarch ruled over the entire city or only over a particular ethnic group within Damascus. Knox translates “the agent of the King.” In the receptor language it will be possible to use a general term meaning “ruler” or “chief,” or to use a verbal expression, “the person who ruled in the name of [King Aretas].”
King Aretas: this refers to Aretas IV, who was an Arab king who ruled from 9 B.C. to A.D. 40. The particular Arab group that he ruled was called the Nabateans. The Nabateans lived in the region east and southwest of the Dead Sea. At the time of Paul’s ministry, the Nabateans may have ruled the city of Damascus far to the northeast of the Dead Sea.
The Greek is literally guarded the city. Some historians think it is unlikely that the Romans would have allowed the Nabatean king to control an area outside of the city of Damascus. For this reason it is likely that the city was guarded from within rather than from without. Assuming that the guards were not placed outside the city but were rather inside, Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje say “placed guards at the city gates” (so also Nueva Biblia Española, “placed guards in the city”). But the Greek is not as specific as Good News Translation, and the translation “put guards round Damascus city” (New Jerusalem Bible) is equally defensible. Translators should avoid suggesting that the governor himself guarded the city, as Revised Standard Version might suggest.
In order to seize me: a number of manuscripts have the words “and wanted to” before the words “seize me.” The reading in these manuscripts is followed by King James Version and the NRSV footnote. The editors of the UBS Greek New Testament consider the words “and wanted to” to be an addition by a scribe who wished to improve the style. Even if they are not original, the addition of these words (only one word in Greek) does not really change the meaning.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .