complete verse (Acts 21:34)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:34:

  • Uma: “There were some who said like this, there were some who said like that. Because it was so noisy, he never could find out what had really happened earlier. That is why he commanded the soldiers to take Paulus inside the soldiers’ house, so that he could be investigated there.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Some from among the many people shouted answering like that, others also shouted answering like this. There was great confusion that’s why the colonel did not know what really had happened. So-then he commanded his soldiers to bring Paul into the fort.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the people answered shouting, however, everyone answered something different. And since it was a terrible tumult, the captain could not get clear in his mind what had really happened. Therefore he commanded the soldiers that they carry Paul into the fort.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But mutually-different is what they were shouting in reply, while-simultaneously they were-all-making-a-racket, so he had no way to come-to-know the truth of it. When that was so, he commanded the soldiers that they take Pablo to their barracks (RL kampo).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “What each was saying couldn’t be known/decifered for they were all shouting out differing answers. Well, since the trouble was like that now, the highest-ranking-officer didn’t know what was the truth. Without anything further, he caused Pablo to be brought by the soldiers to their walled camp.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 21:34

There is no question regarding the meaning of the words which the Good News Translation has rendered could not find out exactly what had happened, but this is rendered variously by the different translations: “impossible for him to get any positive information” (Jerusalem Bible), “could not be certain of the facts” (Phillips), and “could not get at the truth” (New English Bible). The fort (see Jerusalem Bible and La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée “the fortress”; Revised Standard Version, Phillips, and New English Bible “the barracks”) is most probably a reference to the place where the Roman soldiers were garrisoned, that is, the Antonia. The Antonia, which overlooked the temple area, was connected with it by two flights of stairs.

The expression there was such confusion may be rendered as “because people were saying so many different things, the commander could not find out.”

The final phrase, he ordered his men to take Paul up into the fort, may be rendered as direct discourse in a number of languages—for example, “he ordered his men, Take Paul up into the fortress,” The term fort may be rendered as “strong building,” “protected building,” or even “building which could be defended.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 21:34

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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