seeing that you can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem.
Parallel Translations
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seeing that you can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem.
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because that thou mayst knowe that there are yet.xii. dayes sence I went vp to Ierusalem for to praye
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Seeing that thou mayest knowe, that there are but twelue dayes since I came vp to worship in Hierusalem.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Acts 24:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 24:1 After five days, the high priest, Ananias, came down with certain elders and an orator, one Tertullus. They informed the governor against Paul.
- Acts 21:18 The day following, Paul went in with us to James; and all the elders were present.
- Acts 21:26-27 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them. When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
- Acts 22:30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
- Acts 23:11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.”
- Acts 23:23 He called to himself two of the centurions, and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen, and two hundred men armed with spears, at the third hour of the night.”
- Acts 23:32-33 But on the next day they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the barracks. When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.
- Acts 24:17 Now after some years, I came to bring gifts for the needy to my nation, and offerings;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 11. To worship. First, it is certain that he…
11. To worship. First, it is certain that he came for other causes, and he will afterward confess that this was the chief, that he might bring alms for the sustentation of the brethren. But we may well excuse him, because it was not of necessity that he should give an account of his coming; only he meant, by the way, to excuse himself of corrupt religion. Wherefore, though he came to Jerusalem for some other cause, yet this is always true, that he came with no other mind, but to profess himself to be a worshipper of God, and to approve the holiness of the temple by his worshipping. The other question is more hard, how he saith that he came to worship, seeing the religion of the temple was already abolished, and all difference of the temple taken away? I answer in this place likewise, that though he do not make his purpose known, yet he doth not lie or dissemble. For the faithful servants of Christ were not forbidden to worship in the temple, so they did not tie holiness to the place, but did lift up pure hands freely without making choice of places (1 Timothy 2:8). It was lawful for Paul to enter into the temple after he was come to Jerusalem, that he might make his godliness known, and there to use the solemn rites of the worship of God, because he was void of superstition; so he did not offer any propitiatory sacrifices which were contrary to the gospel. Therefore religion did not compel him to come to Jerusalem according to the appointment of the law, as if the sanctuary were the face of God as in times past; yet he doth not abhor the external worship which was unto men a testimony of godliness.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 11 Because that thou mayest understand, that there are…
11 Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
Ver. 11. There are yet but twelve days] And therefore in so short a time I could surely do no such great matters as they charge me with.
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 That thou mayest understand, either by what thou hast…
That thou mayest understand, either by what thou hast heard already, or by what the witnesses, when examined, will declare.
There are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem; there were but twelve days since Paul’s coming to Jerusalem; seven of them he had spent there, until the time of his purification was accomplished; and the other five days he had been in custody, and at Caesarea: by which St. Paul proves how unlikely it was, that in so short a time he, being a stranger in those parts, should raise any tumults.
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For to worship; he being so far from designing any mischief, that he only intended to worship God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Because that thou mayest understand,.... By what Paul now…
Because that thou mayest understand,.... By what Paul now asserted, and by the witnesses which he could produce to certify the truth of it:
that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship; that is, from the time that he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, to the present time, in which he stood before Felix, pleading his own cause; which may be reckoned, thus, he came in one day from Caesarea to Jerusalem, Act 21:16 the next day he visited James and the elders, Act 21:18 on the third day he purified himself in the temple, Act 21:26 where he was taken and used ill by the Jews; on the fourth day, he was brought before the sanhedrim, and defended himself, Act 22:30 on the fifth day forty Jews conspire to take away his life, Act 23:11, on the sixth day he came to Caesarea, being sent there by Lysias, Act 23:32 and five days after this, which make eleven, Ananias, and the elders, with Tertullus, came down to accuse him; and this day was the twelfth, on which his trial came on. And of these twelve days he was a prisoner nine, and therefore could not have done so much mischief, and stirred up so much sedition as was insinuated; and in opposition to the charge of profaning the temple, he observes that he came up to Jerusalem to "worship"; namely, at the feast of Pentecost.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. There are yet but twelve days] This…
Verse 11. There are yet but twelve days] This is his reply to their charge of sedition; the improbability of which is shown from the short time he had spent in Jerusalem, quite insufficient to organize a sedition of any kind; nor could a single proof be furnished that he had attempted to seduce any man, or unhinge any person from his allegiance by subtle disputations, either in the temple, the synagogues, or the city. So that this charge necessarily fell to the ground, self-confuted, unless they could bring substantial proof against him, which he challenges them to do.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Because that thou mayest understand - Greek: “Thou being…
Because that thou mayest understand - Greek: “Thou being able to know.” That is, he could understand or know by taking the proper evidence. Paul does not mean to say that Felix could understand the case because he had been many years a judge of that nation. That fact would qualify him to judge correctly, or to understand the customs of the Jews. But the fact that he himself had been but twelve days in Jerusalem, and had been orderly and peaceable there, Felix could ascertain only by the proper testimony. The first part of Paul’s defense Act 24:11-13 consists in an express denial of what they alleged against him.
Are yet but twelve days - Beza reckons these twelve days in this manner: The first was that on which he came to Jerusalem, Act 21:15. The second he spent with James and the apostles, Act 21:18. Six days were spent in fulfilling his vow, Act 21:21, Act 21:26. On the ninth day the tumult arose, being the seventh day of his vow, and on this day he was rescued by Lysias, Act 21:27; Act 22:29. The tenth day he was before the Sanhedrin, Act 22:30; Act 23:10. On the eleventh the plot was laid to take his life, and on the same day, at evening, he was removed to Caesarea. The days on which he was confined at Caesarea are not enumerated, since his design in mentioning the number of days was to show the improbability that in that time he had been engaged in producing a tumult; and it would not be pretended that he had been so engaged while confined in a prison at Caesarea. The defense of Paul here is, that but twelve days elapsed from the time that he went to Jerusalem until he was put under the custody of Felix; and that during so short a time it was wholly improbable that he would have been able to excite sedition.
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For to worship - This further shows that the design of Paul was not to produce sedition. He had gone up for the peaceful purpose of devotion, and not to produce riot and disorder. That this was his design in going to Jerusalem, or at least a part of his purpose, is indicated by the passage in Act 20:16. It should be observed, however, that our translation conveys an idea which is not necessarily in the Greek that this was the design of his going to Jerusalem. The original is, “Since I went up to Jerusalem worshipping” προσκυνήσων proskunēsōn; that is, he was actually engaged in devotion when the tumult arose. But his main design in going to Jerusalem was to convey to his suffering countrymen there the benefactions of the Gentile churches. See Act 24:17; Rom 15:25-26.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Since I went up from Cæsarea to Jerusalem, not…
Since I went up from Cæsarea to Jerusalem, not to profane the temple, or excite sedition, but to adore the one true God.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain thou mayest understand--canst easily learn.
thou mayest understand--canst easily learn.
that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem--namely, 1. The day of his arrival in Jerusalem (Act 21:15-17); 2. The interview with James (Act 21:18-26); 3. The assumption of the vow (Act 21:26); 4, 5, 6. Continuance of the vow, interrupted by the arrest (Act 21:27, &c.); 7. Arrest of Paul (Act 21:27); 8. Paul before the Sanhedrim (Act 22:30; Act 23:1-10); 9. Conspiracy of the Jews and defeat of it (Act 23:12-24), and despatch of Paul from Jerusalem on the evening of the same day (Act 23:23, Act 23:31); 10, 11, 12, 13. The remaining period referred to (Act 24:1) [MEYER]. This short period is mentioned to show how unlikely it was that he should have had time to do what was charged against him.
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for to worship--a very different purpose from that imputed to him.
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 11. Because—On the first charge, namely, of SEDITION, Paul…
11. Because—On the first charge, namely, of SEDITION, Paul takes the twelve days of which the present witnesses could testify of their own knowledge, and declares what his conduct was. Because that depends on I do answer.
To Jerusalem… to worship—Positively Paul now states his conduct to be that of a loyal Jew going to the religious capital, and his object being to worship there at the great national festival of the Passover. Negatively, he goes on to deny anything seditious, whether in temple, in popular assembly in any of the many synagogues, or in the streets of the city.
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 11. because that thou mayest understand] Rev. Ver. taking…
11. because that thou mayest understand] Rev. Ver. taking a slightly different reading, “Seeing that thou canst take knowledge.” The Apostle means that it was easy to find evidence about all that had happened in such a short space of time. Beside which Felix’s knowledge of Jewish customs would tell him that this was just the time at which foreign Jews came to Jerusalem.
that there are yet but twelve days] The Rev. Ver. has the more modern English, which is also closer to the Greek, “that it is not more than twelve days.” The time may be accounted for thus: the day of St Paul’s arrival, the interview with James on the second day, five days may be given to the separate life in the temple during the vow, then the hearing before the council, next day the conspiracy, the tenth day St Paul reached Cæsarea, and on the thirteenth day (which leaves five days (Act_24:1), as Jews would reckon from the conspiracy to the hearing in Cæsarea) St Paul is before Felix. See Farrar’s St Paul, ii. 338 (note).
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since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship] The Rev. Ver. gets rid of the antiquated English by rendering, “since I went up to worship at Jerusalem.” But the A. V. gives more of the emphasis which St Paul intended to lay on the object of his visit. He went on purpose to worship. Was it likely that he would try to profane the temple? And the verb which he uses expresses all the lowly adoration common among Orientals. The Apostle probably chose it for this reason. He would have Felix know that it was in a most reverent frame of mind that he came to the feast.
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 (11) I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.—This…
(11) I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.—This was, by implication, St. Paul’s answer to the charge of the attempted profanation. One who had come to worship was not likely to be guilty of the crime alleged against him.
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 Seeing that thou canst take knowledge for because that…
Seeing that thou canst take knowledge for because that thou mayest understand, A.V. and T.R.; it is act more than for there are yet but, A.V.; I went up to worship at Jerusalem for I went up to Jerusalem for to worship, A.V. Twelve days. These days may be thus reckoned:
(1) arrival at Jerusalem; (Act_21:15)
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(2) Visit to James and the ciders; (Act_21:18)
(3) first day of purification; (Act_21:26)
(4) second day of purification;
(5) the third day;
(6) the fourth day;
(7) the fifth day, when the tumult took place; (Act_21:27)
(8) Paul brought before the Sanhedrim;
(9) the conspiracy of the forty Jews, Paul leaves Jerusalem for Caesarea the first of the five days mentioned in Act_24:1;
(10) arrival of St. Paul" next day" at Caesarea, and lodged in the pretorium second of the five days; (Act_23:32, Act_23:35)
(11) Paul in Herod"s judgment hall third of the five days;
(12) ditto fourth of the five days;
(13) the current day, being also the fifth day of those mentioned in Act_24:1. The mention of the brief time of twelve days shows the narrow limitsof time within which the crime must have been committed, while the adroit mention of the purpose of his visit, to worship, would show how unlikely it was that he should have gone with any evil intent.
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 10
See notes on verse 10
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.