1Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, and they reported their case against Paul to the governor.
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “high sacrificer” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Tagbanwa as “Most-important Priest of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “Big leader of offerings” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
In Khoekhoe the translation for “high priest” is only capitalized when it refers to Jesus (as is Hebrews 2:17 et al.). (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)
The Greek in Acts 24:1 that is translated as “spokesman,” “orator,” or “lawyer” in English is translated as “person who takes out the word of them” in Lalana Chinantec, as “settler” in Isthmus Mixe, as “one who speaks for another in court” in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac, as “accuser” in Eastern Highland Otomi, or as “one who brings charges” in Highland Popoluca. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 24:1:
Uma: “Five nights after that, Big Priest Ananias and several Yahudi leaders went to Kaisarea with a person who was smart at speaking, his name Tertulus. When they arrived there, they went to Governor Feliks presenting their accusation.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “After five days, Ananiyas, the leading priest, went to Kesarea together with a number of elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They went before the governor and they stated their accusation against Paul.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Five days after that, the High Priest went to Caesarea along with some of the elders and a lawyer whose name was Tertullus. They came before Governor Felix and they told him their charges against Paul.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When five days had gone, the highest priest and some of the elders arrived at Cesarea. There was also a lawyer whom they took-along named Tertullus. They all went to where-Governor Felix -was to file-charges-against Pablo to him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “After five days, the Most-important Priest Ananias arrived in Cesarea. His companions were the important tribal-leaders and Tertulo who was a lawyer. They then brought before the governor their case against Pablo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Five days later presumably is the time from the first interview that Paul had with Felix (23.34). Very little is known about Tertullus except that he was a lawyer acting in behalf of the Jews. He could possibly have been Roman, Greek, or Jewish. In verse 3, 4, and 6, by the use of we and our, he seems to identify himself with his clients, the Jewish people. On the other hand, in verse 2 he refers to “this country” (Good News Translationour country), and in verse 5 to the Jews, as if to imply that he was not one of the Jews himself. In the last part of verse 6 he does refer to our own Law but this part of the verse is not secure in the Greek text. All of this is to say that the identity of Tertullus is not definite, though the Good News Translation suggests that he was one of the Jews.
The term lawyer is not be understood in the sense of a “specialist in the Jewish law.” He was rather a “specialist in Roman law” or “an interpreter of the laws of the country.” In some languages, however, the term for lawyer is rendered as “an accuser of people” or, in other contexts, as “a defender of people.” In some instances some reference to the law may be attached to such words as “accuser” or “defender”—for example, “one who accuses according to the law” or “one who defends another using the law.”
Went to Caesarea in the Greek text is literally “went down,” but this is a normal term used when referring to travel from Jerusalem to some other city, and Caesarea is the city of destination.
Appeared before Governor Felix must be understood in the sense of “appeared before Governor Felix in court” or “stood before Governor Felix as he was judging the case.”
Made their charges against Paul may be rendered as “accused Paul” or “listed their accusations against Paul.”
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 .
In this section, Tertullus spoke for the Jewish leaders. He accused Paul before Governor Felix of being a troublemaker, of causing riots, of being a leader of a sect, and trying to harm the Jewish temple. Paul defended himself before Felix.
Felix adjourned the session, and promised to judge between Paul and the Jews when the Roman commander who had sent Paul arrived. But that promise was actually an excuse to do nothing. Instead, he hoped Paul would bribe him to allow him to leave prison. But Paul did not.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul is Accused in the Court of Felix (Contemporary English Version) -or-
Felix listened to Paul ⌊defend himself⌋ ⌊in court⌋ -or-
Paul before Felix (New American Standard Bible) -or-
The Jews accused Paul before ⌊Governor⌋ Felix, and Paul defended himself
Paragraph 24:1–4
24:1a–b
the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus: In the Greek here, the high priest alone is the subject of the verb came down, even though there were others who traveled with him. This is probably because the high priest was a much more important person than the others named here. He probably was the leader of this group. Other ways to translate this clause are:
the high priest Ananias took/brought some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus and went down to Caesarea -or-
the high priest Ananias, along with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, went down to Caesarea
the high priest: This phrase refers to the priest who was the leader of all the Jewish priests. Other ways to translate this word are:
the leader of the priests -or-
the priest who was the leader of all ⌊Jewish⌋ priests
See how you translated this phrase in 4:6 or 22:5.
24:1a
came down: Some English versions add a phrase such as “to Caesarea” (or “to the city of Caesarea”) to make it clear where the high priest went with the others. Verse 23:33 indicates that the governor was in Caesarea and they went to him there. In some languages, with the new chapter here, it is more clear to say to where or to whom they went. For example:
went down to Caesarea (New International Version) -or-
went down to the city of Caesarea -or-
went to the governor (Contemporary English Version)
came down: Jerusalem is up in the mountains 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). So Luke used the Greek verb that refers to going down in elevation. In some languages it is more natural not to use the word down. For example:
went to Caesarea (Good News Translation)
23:33 already indicates that Paul arrived in Caesarea at that time. In some languages it is more natural to use “went” here. For example:
went down (New International Version)
24:1b
some elders: The word elders describes leaders in Jewish society who were not priests. They were the heads of important families. Here it probably describes elders who were members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling Council. See how you translated this word in 23:14.
a lawyer named Tertullus: This phrase in Greek is literally “a lawyer a certain Tertullus.” The word “certain” probably indicates that Luke did not expect his readers to know who Tertullus was. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
a particular lawyer named Tertullus -or-
the lawyer Tertullus (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Tertullus, their lawyer
lawyer: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lawyer refers in general to someone who is trained to speak well. Here it refers to someone who knew Roman law and customs of the court and could speak in a way that could convince the judge that he is right. Other ways to translate this word are:
spokesman (Revised Standard Version) -or-
advocate (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
attorney/barrister
24:1c
who presented to the governor their case against Paul: This clause indicates that the lawyer and the leaders briefly told what they accused Paul of doing. This was the first step in a Roman court. The governor was the judge.
After they told the governor what they accused Paul of doing, the governor would order someone to bring Paul. Then the lawyer would accuse Paul and explain his accusations (24:2–9), and Paul would defend himself (24:10–21). Some ways to express this are:
they reported to the governor what they thought Paul had done wrong -or-
They reported to the governor their charges against Paul. (God’s Word) -or-
they told the governor what crimes they accused Paul of doing -or-
they told the governor about Paul’s alleged crimes
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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