19:39a
But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as But introduces an alternative here. The first alternative was to accuse someone in court (19:38). The second alternative was to talk about the problem in a legal assembly of the citizens of Ephesus. Another way to translate this Greek word is:
On the other hand,
if you are seeking anything beyond this: This clause in Greek is literally “if you seek anything further.” Demetrius could ask for a new law or a change in an existing law to deal with what Paul was doing. Or he could possibly seek to have the assembly officially rebuke Paul. Other ways to translate this clause are:
if there is something more that you want (Good News Translation)
-or-
If there is something else you want to talk about (New Century Version)
-or-
if you desire something more than that
-or-
Or supposing there is something else which you want everyone to come to an agreement about
19:39b
it must be settled in a legal assembly: The word settled refers to deciding what to do. This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊the people⌋ must decide ⌊what to do about⌋ whatever matter you have
a legal assembly: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a is “the.” It indicates that there was only one way to have an official public gathering of the citizens of Ephesus. It also implies that the current gathering was not official and not legal. In these meetings, the citizens could make a new law or a change in an existing law. Such meetings were held once a month or possibly three times per month. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the legal gathering
-or-
a legal meeting of citizens (Good News Translation)
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