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25 He wrote[a] a letter that went like this:[b]

26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor[c] Felix,[d] greetings. 27 This man was seized[e] by the Jews and they were about to kill him,[f] when I came up[g] with the detachment[h] and rescued him, because I had learned that he was[i] a Roman citizen.[j]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 23:25 tn Grk “writing.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation, supplying “he” (referring to the commanding officer, Claudius Lysias) as subject. The participle γράψας (grapsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  2. Acts 23:25 tn Grk “having this form,” “having this content.” L&N 33.48 has “γράψσς ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον ‘then he wrote a letter that went like this’ Ac 23:25. It is also possible to understand ἐπιστολή in Ac 23:25 not as a content or message, but as an object (see 6.63).”
  3. Acts 23:26 tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).
  4. Acts 23:26 sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.
  5. Acts 23:27 tn The participle συλλημφθέντα (sullēmphthenta) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The remark reviews events of Acts 21:27-40.
  6. Acts 23:27 tn Grk “and was about to be killed by them.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  7. Acts 23:27 tn Or “approached.”
  8. Acts 23:27 tn Normally this term means “army,” but according to BDAG 947 s.v. στράτευμα, “Of a smaller detachment of soldiers, sing. Ac 23:10, 27.” In the plural it can be translated “troops,” but it is singular here.
  9. Acts 23:27 tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.
  10. Acts 23:27 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.sn The letter written by the Roman commander Claudius Lysias was somewhat self-serving. He made it sound as if the rescue of a Roman citizen had been a conscious act on his part. In fact, he had made the discovery of Paul’s Roman citizenship somewhat later. See Acts 21:37-39 and 22:24-29.