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16 This is the reason[a] I do my best to always[b] have a clear[c] conscience toward God and toward people.[d] 17 After several years[e] I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor[f] and to present offerings,[g] 18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified,[h] without a crowd or a disturbance.[i]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 24:16 tn BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 9.a, “ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν this is the reason why we believe Jn 16:30; cp. Ac 24:16.”
  2. Acts 24:16 tn BDAG 224 s.v. διά 2.a, “διὰ παντόςalways, continually, constantlyAc 2:25 (Ps 16:8); 10:2; 24:16.” However, the positioning of the adverb “always” in the English translation is difficult; the position used is one of the least awkward.
  3. Acts 24:16 tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος 1 has “. συνείδησις a clear conscience Ac 24:16.”
  4. Acts 24:16 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use (Paul does not have only males in view).
  5. Acts 24:17 tn BDAG 401 s.v. ἔτος has “δι᾿ ἐ. πλειόνων after several years 24:17.”
  6. Acts 24:17 tn Grk “to bring alms,” but the term “alms” is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “gifts for the poor,” is used instead.
  7. Acts 24:17 tn Or “sacrifices.” BDAG 887 s.v. προσφορά 1 has “προσφοράς ποιεῖν have sacrifices made Ac 24:17, ” but this may be overly specific. It is not clear from the immediate context whether the offering of sacrificial animals (so BDAG assumes) or offerings of some other sort (such as financial gifts) are in view. The combination with ἐλεημοσύνας (eleēmosunas) in the preceding clause may suggest monetary offerings. Some have suggested this is an allusion to the payments made by Paul on behalf of the four other men mentioned in Acts 21:23-26, but the text here seems to suggest something Paul had planned to do before he came, while the decision to pay for the expenses of the men in 21:23ff. was made at the suggestion of the Jerusalem leadership after he arrived. In either case, Paul was portraying himself as a pious worshiper of his God.
  8. Acts 24:18 sn Ritually purified. Paul’s claim here is that he was honoring the holiness of God by being sensitive to issues of ritual purity. Not only was he not guilty of the charges against him, but he was thoroughly devout.
  9. Acts 24:18 tn BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος 3.b has “μετὰ θορύβουwith a disturbance Ac 24:18.”