Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wyc SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL JOB YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Acts Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Acts 21 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35 V36 V38 V39 V40
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=clear Importance=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 say something to you?”
¶ “You speak Greek!”, replied the commander.
OET-LV And going to_be_being_brought_in into the barracks, the Paulos is_saying to_the commander:
- is_it_permitting to_me to_say something to you?
And he was_saying:
You_are_knowing In_Hellaʸn?
SR-GNT Μέλλων 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;)
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).
ULT And 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?
UST And 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.
BLB And 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?
AICNT As 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?
OEB Just 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.
WEBBE As 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?
WMBB (Same as above)
NET As 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?
LSV And 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?
FBV Just 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.
TCNT As 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?
21:37 speak ¦ say something ANT CT TR
T4T As 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]
LEB And 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
21:37 Or “headquarters”
BBE And 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?
Moff No Moff ACTs book available
Wymth When 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.
ASV And 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?
DRA And 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?
YLT And 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?
Drby But 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?
RV And 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?
Wbstr And 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-1769 And 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? Who said, Canst thou/you speak Greek? )
KJB-1611 And 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? Who said, Canst thou/you speak Greeke?)
Bshps And 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? Who said: Canst thou/you speak Greke?)
Gnva And 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? Who said, Canst thou/you speak Greeke? )
Cvdl Whan 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 captayne: May I speak unto the? He said: Canst thou/you Greke?)
TNT And 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? )
Wyc And 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?)
Luth Als 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?)
ClVg Et 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? )
21.37 Græce nosti? RAB. Interrogatio est vel affirmatio, quia (ut putatur) tribunus Græca lingua loquebatur, vel, ne Judæi cognoscerent.
21.37 Græce nosti? RAB. Interrogatio it_is or affirmatio, because (ut putatur) tribunus Græca lingua loquebatur, vel, not Yudæi cognoscerent.
UGNT μέλλων 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-GNT Μέλλων 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-GNT Μέλλων [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 τε ¦ δε PCK
21:37 εισαγεσθαι εις την παρεμβολην ¦ εις την παρεμβολην εισαγεσθαι PCK
21:37 ειπειν ¦ ειπειν τι ANT CT TR
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
21:37-40 The 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).
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
μέλλων & εἰσάγεσθαι εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν, ὁ Παῦλος
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”
Note 2 topic: translate-tense
ὁ Παῦλος λέγει
¬the Paul /is/_saying
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”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ὁ Παῦλος λέγει τῷ χιλιάρχῳ, εἰ ἔξεστίν μοι εἰπεῖν τι πρὸς σέ?
¬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”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
Ἑλληνιστὶ γινώσκεις?
in_Greek ˱you˲_/are/_knowing
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!”
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.