council

The Greek that is translated as “council” or “Council” in English is (back-) translated in a variety of ways:

complete verse (Acts 24:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 24:20:

  • Uma: “But they aren’t here. So, it is better for my enemies who are here now to say what wrong of mine was found when the religious judges in Yerusalem examined me the other day. When I was examined then, they didn’t find any wrong of mine.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But because they are not here, let these people who are here speak. Let them state what sin they found in me when I was examined/investigated there at the council.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now these people who are accusing me today, it would be good if they make clear to you what my sin was that they know about when they brought me before the elders.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But if not, why-don’t (lit. even-if) these-people tell what crime/sin of mine they found-out when-I-was-standing before them in Jerusalem.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Or if not, then these ones here will tell what the members of the Sanedrin found when we (excl.) were in each others’ presence in Jerusalem, as to what I had done which was wrong.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 24:20

These men here is literally “these men themselves,” but the reference is to the men who are standing there accusing Paul (see New English Bible “these persons here,” Jerusalem Bible “those who are present,” and Moffatt “these men yonder”).

What crime they found me guilty of may be equivalent to “what bad they proved that I had done” or “what evil thing they showed that I had done.”

When I stood before the Council must be rendered in some languages as “when I defended myself before the Council,” since in a number of languages the mere fact of standing before the Council would not imply making one’s defense.

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 24:20

24:20a

let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me: Paul and the Jewish leaders knew that the Sanhedrin did not find Paul guilty of any crime. Paul knew that the Jewish leaders could say nothing. Translate this clause in a way that indicates the correct meaning.

these people here must say what crime they might have found/saw that I actually did

Some languages have a way to express contrary-to-fact. If that is true in your language, use it here. For example:

had they found that I had broken the law they would be able to say what it was

let these men state for themselves: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as let…state is a command to speak about something. Paul wants the Jewish leaders to speak if they have anything to say.

let these men: This phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. Most or all of them were present when Lysias brought Paul before the Sanhedrin (22:30, 24:20b).

24:20b

Sanhedrin: The word Sanhedrin is a Greek word that means “council.” Here this phrase refers to the Jewish high council. See how you translated this word in 4:15 or 23:28.

© 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.