But if you seek anything about other matters, it will be settled in the regular assembly.
Parallel Translations
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But if you seek anything about other matters, it will be settled in the regular assembly.
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Yf ye goo about eny other thinge it maye be determined in a lawfull congregacion
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But if ye inquire any thing cocerning other matters, it may be determined in a lawful assembly.
Cross-references
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Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He speaketh of a lawful assembly, not only to…
He speaketh of a lawful assembly, not only to except against the disordered hurly-burly of the people, but also against all meeting and coming together which was not by order: for there were certain days appointed to call the people together in.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other…
39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
Ver. 39. In a lawful assembly] Such as this could not be. Cum boni, cum probi coeunt, non est factio dicenda sed curia: ut e contrario, illis nomen factionis accommodandum est, qui in odium bonorum et Troborum conspirant. (Tertul. Apol. xxxix.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Other matters; relating to the good government of the…
Other matters; relating to the good government of the city, or maintaining the established religion, which ought not in such a confused manner to be treated of, but in an assembly called by lawful authority, which the Romans did usually call, at least, three times every month.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain In a lawful assembly - In such a regular…
In a lawful assembly - In such a regular assembly as has authority to judge of religious and political affairs.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 39. But if ye inquire any thing concerning…
Verse 39. But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters] In which the safety of the state, or the national worship, is concerned, know that such a matter is not the business of the mob; it must be heard and determined in a lawful assembly, εν τη εννομῳ εκκλησιᾳ, one legally constituted, and properly authorized to hear and determine on the subject.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But if we inquire - If you seek to…
But if we inquire - If you seek to determine any other matters than that pertaining to the alleged wrong which Demetrius has suffered in his business.
Other matters - Anything respecting public affairs; anything pertaining to the government and the worship of Diana.
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In a lawful assembly - In an assembly convened, not by tumult and riot, but in conformity to law. This was a tumultuous assemblage, and it was proper in the public officer to demand that they should disperse; and that, if there were any public grievances to be remedied, it should be done in an assembly properly convened. It may be remarked here that the original word rendered assembly is what is usually in the New Testament rendered church - ἐκκλησία ekklēsia. It is properly rendered by the word “assembly” - not denoting here “a mixed or tumultuous assemblage, but one called out, or convened in the legal manner.” The proper meaning of the word is “what is called out.” “The church, the Christian assembly ἐκκλησία ekklēsia of the faithful,” is made up of those who are called out from the world.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain if ye inquire--"have any question."
if ye inquire--"have any question."
concerning other matters--of a public nature.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 39. Lawful assembly—An assembly regularly called and legally authorized;…
39. Lawful assembly—An assembly regularly called and legally authorized; as this was not. To move an unlawful tumult was a capital offence, and Demetrius was now quite as much in danger as Paul.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 39. But if ye inquire any thing concerning other…
39. But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters] Rev. Ver. But if ye seek anything about other matters. The “seeking” which the townclerk means is by a legal process. If the matter were of such a character as to come before the proconsul, there he was, ready to hear the cause. It was, as we might say, “assize time.” But if the question was of another kind, one for the jurisdiction of the ordinary city courts, then they could apply at the proper time and place.
it shall be determined in a lawful assembly] This conveys a wrong idea to the English reader. Of course the court where the proconsul sat was a “lawful assembly,” though the contrary might be inferred from A.V. The word rendered “lawful” signifies “appointed by law.” The days and time of the meeting of the city courts were defined by law. Thus the Rev. Ver. “it shall be settled in the regular assembly” is a better rendering, and distinguishes the ordinary, legal, appointed days of hearing in the regular courts, from the assize of the proconsul.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (39) It shall be determined in a lawful assembly.—Better,…
(39) It shall be determined in a lawful assembly.—Better, in the lawful assembly. The argument is that, should the alleged grievance be one that called for legislative rather than judicial action, the matter would have to be referred to the regular meeting of the ecclesia, which the town-clerk had probably the right to summon. There they could present their gravamen, and petition for redress. Here also the inscriptions discovered by Mr. Wood (vi. 6, p. 50) give an interesting illustration of the official phraseology. An image of Athena is to be placed “above the bench where the boys sit,” at “every lawful (or regular) ecclesia.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Seek for inquire, A.V.; about for concerning, A.V.; settled…
Seek for inquire, A.V.; about for concerning, A.V.; settled for determined, A.V.; the regular for a lawful, A.V. If ye seek, etc (ejpizhteite). jEpizhtein means either "to make inquiry" or" to desire earnestly." The verb in the next clause, ejpiluqhsetai, it shall be "settled," or "solved," favors the first sense: "If you wish to inquire further into the spread of Paul"s doctrine, and the best way of dealing with it, the question should be decided in an assembly of the dhmov, legally convened." For perirwn, about other matters, some manuscripts read peraiterw, further. The regular assembly. That summoned by a magistrate in the constitutional way. The Greek cities under the Roman government preserved their rights and liberties, and the privilege of popular assemblies. The town clerk, therefore, gave them their choice of either having the case tried before the proconsuls or having it laid before the ecclesia of the demos, if they wished it to be gone into on wider and deeper grounds.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 35
See notes on verse 35
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.