Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)As they were able to carry him into the fortress, Paul called down to the commander, “Can I saysomething to you?” ¶ “You speak Greek!”, replied the commander.
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULTAnd being about to be brought into the fortress, Paul says to the chiliarch, “If it is permitted for me to say something to you?” But he said, “Do you know Greek?
USTAnd as the soldiers were about to bring Paul into the fortress, he said in Greek to the commander, “May I speak with you?” And the commander said, “I am surprised that you can speak Greek!
BSB § As they were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” § “Do you speak Greek?” he replied.
BLBAnd being about to be brought into the barracks, Paul says to the commander, "Is it permitted to me to say something to you?" Then he was saying, "Do you know Greek?
AICNTAs Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he replied, “Do you know Greek?
OEBJust as he was about to be taken into the Fort, Paul said to the commanding officer, ‘May I speak to you?’ ¶ ‘Do you know Greek?’ asked the commanding officer.
WEBBEAs Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he asked the commanding officer, “May I speak to you?” ¶ He said, “Do you know Greek?
NETAs Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commanding officer, “May I say something to you?” The officer replied, “Do you know Greek?
LSVAnd Paul being about to be led into the stronghold, says to the chief captain, “Is it permitted to me to say anything to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?
FBVJust as he was about to be taken inside the fortress, Paul asked the commander, “Can I tell you something?” ¶ “Do you know Greek?” asked the commander.
TCNTAs Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “Do I have permission to [fn]speak to yoʋ?” The commander said, “Yoʋ know how to speak Greek?
T4TAs Paul was about to be taken {the soldiers were about to take Paul} into the barracks, he said in Greek to the commander, “May I speak to you?” The commander said, “◄I am surprised that you can speak the Greek language!/Can you (sg) speak the Greek language?►” [RHQ]
LEBAnd as he[fn] was about to be brought into the barracks,[fn] Paul said to the military tribune, “Is it permitted for me to say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?
21:37*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was about to”) which is understood as temporal
BBEAnd when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And he said, Have you a knowledge of Greek?
WymthWhen he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul said to the Tribune, "May I speak to you?" "Do you know Greek?" the Tribune asked.
ASVAnd as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek?
DRAAnd as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith to the tribune: May speak something to thee? Who said: Canst thou speak Greek?
YLTAnd Paul being about to be led into the castle, saith to the chief captain, 'Is it permitted to me to say anything unto thee?' and he said, 'Greek dost thou know?
DrbyBut as he was about to be led into the fortress, Paul says to the chiliarch, Is it allowed me to say something to thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek?
RVAnd as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek?
WbstrAnd as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said to the chief captain, May I speak to thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
KJB-1769And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? (And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee/you? Who said, Canst thou/you speak Greek? )
KJB-1611And as Paul was to bee led into the castle, hee saide vnto the chiefe captaine, May I speake vnto thee? Who saide, Canst thou speake Greeke? (And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee/you? Who said, Canst thou/you speak Greeke?)
BshpsAnd when Paul began to be caryed into the castle, he saide vnto the hye captaine: May I speake vnto thee? Who sayde: Canst thou speake Greke? (And when Paul began to be carried into the castle, he said unto the high captain: May I speak unto thee/you? Who said: Canst thou/you speak Greke?)
GnvaAnd as Paul should haue bene led into the castell, he sayd vnto the chiefe Captaine, May I speake vnto thee? Who sayd, Canst thou speake Greeke? (And as Paul should have been led into the castell, he said unto the chief Captain, May I speak unto thee/you? Who said, Canst thou/you speak Greeke? )
CvdlWhan Paul was now to be caried in to the castell, he sayde vnto ye captayne: Maye I speake vnto the? He sayde: Canst thou Greke? (When Paul was now to be carried in to the castell, he said unto ye/you_all captain: May I speak unto the? He said: Canst thou/you Greke?)
TNTAnd as Paul shuld have bene caryed into the castle he sayde vnto the hye Captayne: maye I speake vnto the? Which sayde: canst thou speake Greke? (And as Paul should have been carried into the castle he said unto the high Captain: may I speak unto the? Which said: canst thou/you speak Greke? )
WyclAnd whanne Poul bigan to be led in to the castels, he seide to the tribune, Whether it is leueful `to me, to speke ony thing to thee? (And when Poul began to be led in to the castles, he said to the tribune, Whether it is lawful `to me, to speak any thing to thee/you?)
LuthAls aber Paulus jetzt zum Lager eingeführet ward, sprach er zu dem Hauptmann: Darf ich mit dir reden? Er aber sprach: Kannst du Griechisch? (Als but Paulus jetzt for_the camp eingeführet ward, spoke he to to_him headmann: Darf I with you/to_you reden? He but spoke: Kannst you Griechisch?)
ClVgEt cum cœpisset induci in castra Paulus, dicit tribuno: Si licet mihi loqui aliquid ad te? Qui dixit: Græce nosti?[fn] (And when/with cœpisset induci in castra Paulus, dicit tribuno: When/But_if licet to_me loqui aliquid to te? Who dixit: Græce nosti? )
21.37Græce nosti? RAB. Interrogatio est vel affirmatio, quia (ut putatur) tribunus Græca lingua loquebatur, vel, ne Judæi cognoscerent.
21.37Græce nosti? RAB. Interrogatio it_is or affirmatio, because (ut putatur) tribunus Græca lingua loquebatur, vel, not Yudæi cognoscerent.
UGNTμέλλων τε εἰσάγεσθαι εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν, ὁ Παῦλος λέγει τῷ χιλιάρχῳ, εἰ ἔξεστίν μοι εἰπεῖν τι πρὸς σέ? ὁ δὲ ἔφη, Ἑλληνιστὶ γινώσκεις? (mellōn te eisagesthai eis taʸn parembolaʸn, ho Paulos legei tōi ⱪiliarⱪōi, ei exestin moi eipein ti pros se? ho de efaʸ, Hellaʸnisti ginōskeis?)
SBL-GNTΜέλλων τε εἰσάγεσθαι εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν ὁ Παῦλος λέγει τῷ χιλιάρχῳ· Εἰ ἔξεστίν μοι εἰπεῖν ⸀τι πρὸς σέ; ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ἑλληνιστὶ γινώσκεις; (Mellōn te eisagesthai eis taʸn parembolaʸn ho Paulos legei tōi ⱪiliarⱪōi; Ei exestin moi eipein ⸀ti pros se; ho de efaʸ; Hellaʸnisti ginōskeis;)
TC-GNTΜέλλων [fn]τε [fn]εἰσάγεσθαι εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν ὁ Παῦλος λέγει τῷ χιλιάρχῳ, Εἰ ἔξεστί μοι [fn]εἰπεῖν πρός σε; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη, Ἑλληνιστὶ γινώσκεις; (Mellōn te eisagesthai eis taʸn parembolaʸn ho Paulos legei tōi ⱪiliarⱪōi, Ei exesti moi eipein pros se; Ho de efaʸ, Hellaʸnisti ginōskeis; )
21:37-40The commander had mistaken Paul for an Egyptian false messiah who had planned to seize power from the Romans around AD 54 (roughly three years earlier; see Josephus, War 2.13.5). Paul corrected the mistake, gained permission to speak to the people, and addressed the crowd in Aramaic, the common language of Judea. He gave a strong statement of his faith in Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 22:1-21).
going & /to_be_being/_brought_in into the barracks ¬the Paul
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [as the soldiers were about to bring Paul inside the fortress, Paul]
To call attention to a development in the story, here Luke uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: [Paul said]
¬the Paul /is/_saying ˱to˲_the commander ¬If ˱it˲_/is/_permitting ˱to˲_me /to/_say something to you
Luke is recording how Paul used the typical form in his language for asking questions. It may be more natural in your language to have an indirect quotation here. Alternate translation: [Paul asked the chiliarch if it was permitted for him to say something to him]
The commander is using the question form to express surprise that Paul is not who he thought he was. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [You know Greek!]
The Final Stops along Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
Acts 21
The final days of Paul’s third missionary journey are a beautiful snapshot of the love and hospitality that characterized the early church. The story picks up just after Paul and his coworkers had boarded a ship in Patara on the Lycian coast and headed for Phoenicia. They landed at the international commercial hub of Tyre, where the ship unloaded its cargo. While they were there they found some believers and stayed with them for seven days. Such an unannounced and lengthy request for hospitality would likely be met with offense and resentment by many in the Western world today, but in ancient times travel and lodging were not always safe, and accommodations with a trusted friend were highly valued–by both host and guest–for just as hosts provided guests with safe, warm lodging, guests often provided hosts with news updates or cherished greetings from loved ones far away. Thus, hospitality for traveling believers became a hallmark of the early church as they sought to care for the needs of those within the family of God, regardless of their personal familiarity with them (see 2 John 10; 3 John 5-8). During this time in Tyre, the believers, no doubt aware of Jewish animosity against Paul, urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Yet Paul was determined to continue his journey, so all the believers and their entire families escorted him to the beach where he was to board another ship. There they knelt down, prayed, and said their farewells. The next day Paul arrived in Ptolemais and stayed with believers there for one day. Then he set sail for Caesarea, the headquarters of Roman forces in Palestine and also the home of Philip the Evangelist, a prominent deacon in the church who had led many Samaritans, an Ethiopian royal official, and many people along the coast to faith in Christ (Acts 6:1-7; 8:1-40). While he was there, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea and warned Paul of his impending arrest in Jerusalem if he continued on. When other believers heard this, they began to weep and urged Paul not to go. Yet Paul remained resolute, and after several days he and his coworkers headed to Jerusalem. Some believers from Caesarea traveled with Paul and made arrangements for him to stay with a believer named Mnason from Cyprus. Paul was warmly received by believers in Jerusalem, and the next day he visited James and the other elders of the church. He recounted to them all the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry, and they praised God. They also mentioned, however, that many Jews living in Jerusalem had been hearing false reports that Paul was teaching Jews to abandon the laws of Moses. So they requested that Paul take part in and even pay for a vow ceremony (likely a nazirite vow; see Numbers 6) for four men to demonstrate that he still observed and valued the law of Moses. Paul agreed, but, ironically, it was this very act of obedience to the law of Moses that ultimately led to a riot among the Jews, for some of them accused Paul of defiling the holy place by bringing Greeks into the Temple.
