What Does Acts 28:17 Mean?
And it came to pass that after three days Paul called the chiefs of the Jews together, and when they had come together, he said to them, "Men and brothers, though I have done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans."
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.THE KEY
The verse places a claim of innocence beside a transfer of custody: being handed over is not itself a verdict.
THE MEANING
Your circumstances can place you in another’s power without turning accusation into proof. The verse holds a claim of innocence and the reality of being a prisoner side by side; one does not erase the other.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A person in custody must be guilty. The verse breaks the equation between confinement and culpability.
THE ROOT
παρεδόθην
paredothēn
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι (didōmi), in the compound παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi)
To give; in this compound, to hand over, deliver, or pass on.
“handed over as a prisoner” in this verse is paredothēn. Paul’s word means he is “given over” from one set of hands to another. The related noun παράδοσις (paradosis, tradition or handing down) comes from the same compound family: although Acts uses a different Greek word for “customs,” the verse places Paul’s handover beside his insistence that he has not violated what was handed down from his fathers.
ALSO GROWS
paradosis: Tradition; something handed down.
παράδοσις
This related noun makes inherited teaching linguistically echo the verse’s language of being handed over, while “customs” itself is a different Greek word.
apodidōmi: Give back, return, or render.
ἀποδίδωμι
This compound shares the root δίδωμι (didōmi, give) and shows that giving describes a transfer; it does not by itself declare the recipient guilty.
THE PATTERN
Custody can be imposed without settling the question of guilt.
And Joseph's master took him, and placed him in the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were bound; and there he was in the prison.Look, they lie in wait for my living soul; the strong ones gather against me, not for my rebellion, nor for my falling short, O LORD.For this is favor, if one bears up under grief with God in view, suffering what is out of alignment.THE THREAD
But watch for humankind, for they will hand you over to the councils, and they will lash you in their synagogues.Matthew uses the same Greek verb, παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), for being handed over to councils. The shared word describes a transfer into others’ power; the transfer itself does not establish guilt.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us