Acts 21:35
in Acts 21When Paul reached the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd;
KJV
And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
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This verse in Acts 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWhen he reached the steps, it happened that he was carried, and the rest. The steps signify not the descent from the temple, but the ascent into the camp. This is clear from the Greek, where ἀναβαθμὸς, not καταβαθμός: that is, it has ascent, not …
This site's exposition
could not get at the truth
on Acts 21:34-36
The soldiers carried Paul up the steps into the barracks, and the crowd kept shouting Away with him. The Jerusalem crowd had raised that cry against Jesus before Pilate, and Luke draws Paul as sharing the rejection of his Lord.
This site's exposition
When Paul reached the steps
Wesley places the castle of Antonia on a rock where the western and northern porches of the temple met. Stairs went down from it to each porch, and Paul was being lifted from the temple courts into the Roman camp.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him!" What means, "Away with him?" that is, what they say with us according to the Roman custom, To the standards with him! They no longer wanted laws nor courts of justice: they also beat him. But he forbore to make his defence then; he made it afterward: with reason; for they would not even have heard him then. Pray, why did they cry, "Away with him?" They feared he might escape them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When he came upon the stairs - The castle of Antonia was situate on a rock fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple, where the western and northern porticos joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it.
And when he came upon the stairs,....
How much ado Paul had to get clear from Ephesus, intimated in the first words of the chapter, after we had gotten from them, that is, were drawn from them as by violence. It was a force put upon both sides; Paul was loth to leave them, and they were loth to part with him, and yet there was no remedy, but so it must be.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Upon the stairs - The stairs which led from the temple to the castle of Antonia. Josephus says (Jewish Wars, book 5, chapter 5, section 8), that the castle of Antonia “was situated at the corner of two cloisters of the temple, of that on the west, and of that on the north; it was erected on a rock of 50 cubits (75 feet) in height, and was on a great precipice.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And when he came upon the stairs - Those mentioned in the note on Act 21:31.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὅτε | hote | When | G3753 → | 103 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐγένετο | egeneto | he came | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | to | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τοὺς | tous | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀναβαθμούς, | anabathmous | stairs, | G304 → | |
| συνέβη | sunebe | it happened that | G4819 → | 8 times |
| βαστάζεσθαι | bastazesthai | being carried | G941 → | 27 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | he | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὑπὸ | hupo | by | G5259 → | 219 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| στρατιωτῶν | stratioton | soldiers | G4757 → | 26 times |
| διὰ | dia | because of | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βίαν | bian | violence | G970 → | 3 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὄχλου· | ochlou | crowd; | G3793 → | 175 times |
ὅτεWhen
hoteG3753 →103 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐγένετοhe came
egenetoG1096 →667 times
ἐπὶto
epiG1909 →883 times
τοὺςthe
tousG3588 →19766 times
ἀναβαθμούς,stairs,
anabathmousG304 →
συνέβηit happened that
sunebeG4819 →8 times
βαστάζεσθαιbeing carried
bastazesthaiG941 →27 times
αὐτὸνhe
autonG846 →5565 times
ὑπὸby
hupoG5259 →219 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
στρατιωτῶνsoldiers
stratiotonG4757 →26 times
διὰbecause of
diaG1223 →664 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
βίανviolence
bianG970 →3 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
ὄχλου·crowd;
ochlouG3793 →175 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 23:10For the land is full of adulterers—because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up—their course is evil and their power is misused.
it leads to
- Psalms 107:34
and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
- Hosea 4:2–3
Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
- Jeremiah 9:2
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
- Jeremiah 5:7–8
“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.
- Jeremiah 9:10
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not…
- Psalms 107:34
Through
Psalms 58:2No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
it leads to
- Psalms 94:20
Can a corrupt throne be Your ally— one devising mischief by decree?
- Isaiah 10:1
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
- Psalms 94:20
Through
Psalms 55:9O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:7
As a well gushes its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her; sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
- Jeremiah 6:7
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Retractions on Acts; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 46; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.