Acts 28 · Verse 21

Acts 28:21

And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.

Acts 28:21, King James Version

Acts 28:21 in other translations

BSB	The leaders replied, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the brothers from there reported or even mentioned anything bad about you.
WEB	They said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor did any of the brothers come here and report or speak any evil of you.
ASV	And they said unto him, We neither received letters from Judæa concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm of thee.
YLT	And they said unto him, ‘We did neither receive letters concerning thee from Judea, nor did any one who came of the brethren declare or speak any evil concerning thee,
DARBY	And they said to him, For our part, we have neither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor has any one of the brethren who has arrived reported or said anything evil concerning thee.
BBE	And they said to him, We have not had letters from Judaea about you, and no one of the brothers has come to us here to give an account or say any evil about you.
Webster	And they said to him, We have neither received letters from Judea concerning thee, neither have any of the brethren that came shown or spoken any harm of thee.

What does Acts 28:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 28:21-22

21-22. We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, &c.--We need not suppose (with Tholuck and others) that there was any dishonest concealment here. The distinction made between himself, against whom they heard nothing, and his "sect," as "everywhere spoken against," is a presumption in favor of their sincerity; and there is ground to think that as the case took an unexpected turn by Paul's appealing to Cæsar, so no information on the subject would travel from Jerusalem to Rome in advance of the apostle himself.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 21. We neither received letters, etc. Why the Jews in Judea had not forwarded the accusation against Paul to their brethren at Rome, that they might continue the prosecution before the emperor, is not known. It is probable that they regarded their cause as hopeless, and chose to abandon the prosecution. Paul had been acquitted successively by Lysias, Felix, Festus, Agrippa; and as they had not succeeded in procuring his condemnation before them, they saw no prospect of doing it at Rome, and chose therefore not to press the prosecution any farther.

Neither any of the brethren that came. Any of the Jews. There was a very constant intercourse between Judea and Rome; but it seems that the Jews, who had come before Paul had arrived, had not mentioned his case, so as to prejudice them against him.

(*) "shewed" "related"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21 We neither received letters, etc. - This is very strange, and shows us that the Jews knew their cause to be hopeless, and therefore did not send it forward to Rome. They wished for an opportunity to kill Paul: and, when they were frustrated by his appeal to the emperor, they permitted the business to drop. Calmet supposes they had not time to send; but this supposition does not appear to be sufficiently solid: they might have sent long before Paul sailed; and they might have written officially by the vessel in which the centurion and the prisoners were embarked. But their case was hopeless; and they could not augur any good to themselves from making a formal complaint against the apostle at the emperor's throne.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 28:17-22

It was for the honour of Paul that those who examined his case, acquitted him. In his appeal he sought not to accuse his nation, but only to clear himself. True Christianity settles what is of common concern to all mankind, and is not built upon narrow opinions and private interests. It aims at no worldly benefit or advantage, but all its gains are spiritual and eternal. It is, and always has been, the lot of…

Read the full comment on Acts 28:17-22 →

Acts 28:21 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

οἱhoi<the>G3588

δὲdeAndG1161

πρὸςprostoG4314

αὐτὸνautonhimG846

εἶπαν·eipanthey said;G2036

ἡμεῖςhēmeisWe ourselvesG3165

οὔτεouteneitherG3777

γράμματαgrammatalettersG1121

περὶpericoncerningG4012

σοῦsouyouG4771

ἐδεξάμεθαedexamethareceivedG1209

ἀπὸapofromG575

τῆςtēs<the>G3588

Ἰουδαίας,IoudaiasJudea,G2449

οὔτεoutenorG3777

παραγενόμενόςparagenomenoshaving arrivedG3854

τιςtisanyG5100

τῶνtōnof theG3588

ἀδελφῶνadelphōnbrothersG80

ἀπήγγειλενapēngeilenreportedG518

ἢēorG2228

ἐλάλησένelalēsenhe saidG2980

τιtianythingG5100

περὶpericoncerningG4012

σοῦsouyouG4771

πονηρόν.ponēronevil.G4190

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 28:21

Isaiah 41:11
Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 50:8
He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
Acts 22:5
As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Exodus 11:7
But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

We.
Ex 11:7; Isa 41:11; 50:8; 54:17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Acts 28:20
For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
Acts 28:21
And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.
Acts 28:22
But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.

Read all of Acts 28

Acts 28:21 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Entonces ellos le dijeron: Nosotros ni hemos recibido cartas tocante á ti de Judea, ni ha venido alguno de los hermanos que haya denunciado ó hablado algún mal de ti.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Mais ils lui dirent: Pour nous, nous n’avons pas reçu de lettre de Judée à ton sujet; et aucun des frères qui sont arrivés n’a rapporté ou dit quelque mal de toi;
German Elberfelder 1871	Sie aber sprachen zu ihm: Wir haben über dich weder Briefe von Judäa empfangen, noch ist jemand von den Brüdern hergekommen und hat uns über dich etwas Böses berichtet oder gesagt.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	At illi dixerunt ad eum: Nos neque litteras accepimus de te a Judæa, neque adveniens aliquis fratrum nuntiavit, aut locutus est quid de te malum.