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27 So the commanding officer[a] came and asked[b] Paul,[c] “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”[d] He replied,[e] “Yes.” 28 The commanding officer[f] answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”[g] “But I was even[h] born a citizen,”[i] Paul replied.[j] 29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away[k] from him, and the commanding officer[l] was frightened when he realized that Paul[m] was[n] a Roman citizen[o] and that he had had him tied up.[p]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  2. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “and said to.”
  3. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Acts 22:27 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
  5. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “He said.”
  6. Acts 22:28 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  7. Acts 22:28 sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.
  8. Acts 22:28 tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: evenAc 5:39; 22:28.”
  9. Acts 22:28 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.sn Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.
  10. Acts 22:28 tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  11. Acts 22:29 tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep awayἀπό τινος…Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8…cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.
  12. Acts 22:29 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
  13. Acts 22:29 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. Acts 22:29 tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.
  15. Acts 22:29 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
  16. Acts 22:29 sn Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28-29; 24:22; 25:20, 26-27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.