21:34a
Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, and some another: Many people in the crowd shouted answers to the commander’s questions. But they said different things. 21:34b indicates that what one person said did not agree with what someone else said. Other ways to translate this clause are:
People in the crowd called out different things (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
And the people answered shouting, however, everyone answered something different.
See how you translated similar words (“Some were shouting one thing and some another”) in 19:32.
were shouting: The Greek verb indicates that the crowd shouted for some time.
21:34b
since: This word introduces the reason for the commander to order his soldiers to take Paul to the barracks (21:34c).
This is not a natural order in many languages. If that is true in your language, use the correct conjunction or reorder 21:34b–c. For example:
and the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, so
-or-
34che ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks, 34bsince/because the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar
the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar: The uproar caused the commander to be unable to learn what was true about Paul. In some languages the uproar must be mentioned first. For example:
the uproar ⌊of the crowd⌋ caused the commander not to get at the truth
the commander could not get at the truth: The phrase get at is an English idiom that means “learn” or “discover.” Other ways to translate this clause are:
he could not learn the facts (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the commander could not find out exactly what had happened (Good News Translation)
the truth: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the truth refers to being certain of something. The commander was not certain who Paul was or what he had done. See the examples above.
uproar: This word describes a crowd that is both noisy and disorderly. In some languages the whole meaning must be translated with a phrase. For example:
the noise and confusion (God’s Word)
-or-
confusion and shouting (New Century Version)
21:34c
he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks: The clause Paul be brought is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
he ordered his men to take Paul up into the fort (Good News Translation)
In some languages, it will be more natural to express the command in direct speech. For example, you might say:
he ordered the soldiers ⌊saying⌋, “Take this man into the barracks.”
be brought into: If direction up and down is important in your language, you could translate this as “be brought up into.”
barracks: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as barracks means “a place where soldiers lived.” Here it refers to the stone fortress next to the temple. Other ways to translate this word are:
army building (New Century Version)
-or-
fortress (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
soldiers’ residence
-or-
the building where the soldiers stayed
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