complete verse (Acts 22:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 22:24:

  • Uma: “That is why the head of the soldiers commanded his soldiers to carry Paulus on into the house of the soldiers, so that there he could be beaten and examined there so that they would know why the Yahudi people were so angry, yelling-at him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then the colonel commanded his men to bring Paul into the fort. He also commanded that Paul be beaten so that he would tell why the Yahudi were shouting like that against him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the captain of the Roman soldiers did not understand what they said, and then he commanded the soldiers that they bring Paul into the fort and that they beat him to make him confess what the Jews were so angry with him about, because why were they shouting like that?” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore the commander had-Pablo -enter, and he commanded that they whip-him so he would confess the reason-for the people’s shouting-at him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When that highest-ranking-officer of soldiers observed, he ordered that Pablo then be taken inside their wall, for he would be interrogated there. He also ordered that Pablo be whipped till he admitted what evil he really had done for which the Jews found fault with him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Lalana Chinantec: “So the boss of the soldiers commanded that they take Paul into the house where the soldiers are. He told the soldiers to beat Paul with a leather rope. ‘We’ll see whether Paul will tell what guilt he has when they whip him,’ said the boss of the soldiers. ‘We’ll see why the people yelled and shouted.'” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

Translation commentary on Acts 22:24

The Greek does not make explicit the persons to whom the Roman commander gave his orders, but it is obvious that they were given to his men.

“Him” of the Greek has been made explicit in the Good News Translation by translating Paul.

Whipping a person was not to punish him, but was the legal means of examining a person who was either a slave or an alien (see v. 29). Whipping was regarded as a kind of torture in order to guarantee that the individual would tell the truth.

Screaming … against him may be rendered as “speaking against him by their screams.” This shift may be required, since in some languages one can only “speak against” and not “scream against.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 22:24

22:24a

the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks: The clause that Paul be brought is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

the officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the barracks (God’s Word)

the commander: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as commander means “leader of one thousand soldiers.” This kind of officer commanded six hundred to a thousand soldiers in the Roman army. Other ways to translate this word are:

tribune (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
commanding officer (NET Bible)

See how you translated this word in 21:31 or 21:37.

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.

22:24b

He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated: The Greek words are literally “to be questioned with whips.” The Romans usually flogged the person first, then took him to the leader so he could question the person. Other ways to translate these clauses are:

to be examined by scourging (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
to be flogged and then questioned

Paul be flogged and interrogated: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊they⌋ flog him and bring him for the commander to question

flogged: Here the word flogged refers to using a whip on a person’s back. The Roman whip used for flogging was made of several leather strips attached to a wooden handle. Often the strips had pieces of metal or bone attached to them to cut deeper into skin.

Other ways to translate this word are:

whipped (God’s Word)
-or-
scourged

In some languages a literal translation would not indicate that the skin would be deeply cut. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the kind of whip in the translation. For example:

cut his skin with a whip ⌊having broken bits of bone tied on⌋

• Translate literally and explain the kind of whip in a footnote. An example footnote is:

The Roman whip was made of several strips of leather. Often pieces of sharp bone or metal were tied to these strips to cut the skin and increase the pain.

22:24c

to determine the reason for this outcry against him: The Roman commander wanted to know what crime Paul had done that caused the people to shout so angrily. Other ways to translate this clause are:

so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
in order to find out ⌊what Paul had done wrong⌋ that caused the people to shout at him like that

this outcry against him: The Jewish crowd shouted for the Roman commander to kill Paul. For example:

were shouting against him
-or-
were shouting demanding his death

him: Here this pronoun refers to Paul.

General Comment on 22:24a–c

Some languages use direct speech for commands. For example:

the commander ordered, “Take this man into the barracks. Flog him and ⌊then⌋ bring him to me so that I can question him to find out why the people are shouting at him like this.”

It is implied that the soldiers obeyed the commander and took Paul into the barracks. 22:25 occurred before they started to flog Paul. In some languages, it is more natural to indicate explicitly that the soldiers did as the commander ordered. If that is true in your language, you may want to add the implied information. For example:

…in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ⌊So the soldiers took Paul into the barracks.⌋

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