So, here is what we would like you to do: We have four men who have made a vow [i.e., a special promise to God].

Then Paul took the men and the next day he observed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the Temple, declaring [to the priest] when he would fulfill the [required] days of the purification [ceremony] and [be ready] for the sacrifices to be offered for each of them.

When daylight came, [a group of] Jews conspired together, agreeing under oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

and we would have judged him according to our law but commander Lysias came and forcibly took him out of our hands}}

He had hoped, along with everything else, that he would receive money from Paul, so he sent for him more frequently and had discussions with him.

When his accusers stood up, they brought no charge of wrongdoing as I had expected [they would].

And I was perplexed as to how to proceed with the investigation, so I [finally] asked him if he would go to Jerusalem to have his case judged there.

But I do not have anything specific to write to His Majesty. This is the reason I have brought him before this assembly, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after you have questioned him, I would [then] have something [substantial] to write.

But I obtained help from God and so [I am able to] stand here to this day, testifying to both the common people and to those in prominence. [I am] saying only what the prophets and Moses said would happen,

Paul replied, "I wish to God that, whether it would take a little or a lot, not only you, but all those who hear me today, might become [Christians] like me, except [not] with these chains."

After much time had passed, the voyage became more dangerous because it was [now] past the Day of Atonement [Note: This would have been around September or October, when a sea voyage involved rough sailing]. So, Paul began warning the people [aboard ship],

And when they [finally] got the boat hoisted up, they slung [rope] cables underneath [and around] the hull [of the ship to reinforce it]. Then, fearing the ship would run aground on the [shifting], shallow sandbar [called] Syrtis, they lowered their [navigation] gear [Note: This may have been sails, rigging, etc.] and so were driven [as a derelict by the wind].

So men, cheer up, for I believe God, that everything will turn out just as I was told it would.

And when they had eaten sufficiently, they began lightening the ship [so it would float higher] by throwing their wheat overboard.

When it got daylight they saw an island they did not recognize, but noticed [it had] a particular bay with a [suitable] beach. So, they discussed whether it would be possible to run the ship aground on the beach.

[Meanwhile] the soldiers had decided to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim away and escape.

But we would like to hear what you think, for according to our knowledge, this sect [you belong to] is being spoken against everywhere."

For these people's minds are dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes. For, if this were not the case, they would perceive what they see with their eyes, and understand what they hear with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and would turn [back to God] again and I [God] would heal them [from their sins].'

But if my "lie" [i.e., as you Jews call it] would result in God's truthfulness [about you Jews] increasing the honor He receives, why am I also still judged to be a sinner [by you]?

For if Abraham had been made right with God by doing good deeds he would have had something to boast about, but not in God's presence.

Yet he looked for the promise of God [to be fulfilled] and did not waver, doubting [that it would happen], but his faith strengthened him. He honored God

Someone would not likely die to rescue a righteous person, though possibly someone would dare to die in order to rescue a good person.

So then, just as [God's] judgment came, condemning all people [to physical death] because of one sin [i.e., Adam's]; even so the free gift of being made right with God and [resulting in] life may be received by all people because of one man's [i.e., Christ's] act of righteousness. [Note: This "life" may refer to spiritual life now, or to being made alive in the resurrection, which would reverse the curse of physical death caused by Adam's sin].

This was so that just as sin ruled [over mankind], causing [physical] death, even so God's unearned favor would rule [over mankind], providing [them with] righteousness, and leading to never ending life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say then? Is the law of Moses sinful? Certainly not! For I would not have known what sin was if it had not been for the law. For [example]; I would not have known [what it meant] to covet [i.e., have a strong desire for what belongs to someone else] except that the law said [Ex. 20:17], "You must not covet."

that the created world itself would be freed from its slavery to corrupting influences [i.e., produced by the fall] and receive the glorious freedom which belongs to God's children.

Who [i.e., what] can separate us from Christ's love [for us]? [i.e., what unfortunate circumstance of life might suggest that Christ does not love us?] Would [it be] trouble? Or distress? Or persecution? Or inadequate food? Or inadequate clothing? Or danger? Or [even] death?

And, as Isaiah had said in a previous passage [1:9], "If the Lord of the [heavenly] armies [i.e., Almighty God] had not left us some descendants [i.e., a small minority], we would have become like Sodom; He would have made us like Gomorrah [i.e., destroyed]."

For Moses wrote [Lev. 18:5] about a person being made right with God by obeying the requirements of the law of Moses, that he would gain [never ending] life for doing this.

And if [they were selected] by God's unearned favor, [then] the choice is not based on the good that people may do. Otherwise, God's favor would not be [really] unearned.

as it has been written [Isa. 19:10], "God gave them a spirit of numbness [i.e., they developed a spiritual insensitivity to God and His word]. [He gave them] eyes to see with [but they would not look], and ears to hear with [but they did not listen]. And they still have this spirit."

For if their rejection [by God] meant that [the rest of] the world could be restored to favor [with God], what would [God's] receiving the Jews back into fellowship be, except like dead people coming back to life?

Now it has been my ambition to preach the good news at places where Christ's name has never been heard, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.

For Christ did not send me to immerse people, but to preach the good news. [Note: Christ specifically commissioned Paul to preach; most of the immersing was done by his attendants]. It was not to be done with words of [human] wisdom, so that the [message of the] cross of Christ would not have its power taken away.

This was so that your faith would not [have to] depend on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

None of the rulers of this age knew about this [divine] wisdom, for if they had [known it], they would not have crucified the glorious Lord [i.e., Jesus].

And I could not speak to you, brothers, as I would to spiritual people, but [I have to speak to you] as I would to worldly people, for you are immature children in [the fellowship of] Christ.

Now some of you have become arrogant, thinking that I would not [dare to] come to you.

I did not mean the sexually immoral people of this world, or with greedy people and swindlers, or with idolaters. For [to do this] you would have to go out of the world. [Note: If taken literally, this implies that there are no sinful people outside our planet].

For the unbelieving husband is set apart [i.e., as an acceptable mate, although not yet saved. See verse 16], through his wife [i.e., her Christian commitment is viewed as having a godly effect on the home], and the unbelieving wife is set apart through the brother [i.e., for the same reason]. Otherwise, your children would be [considered] unclean. [Note: "Unclean" suggests they would be viewed as pagans were it not for one parent being a Christian]. But, as it is, they are set apart as acceptable [i.e., to God, because of the influence of the one Christian parent].

If other people have the right to receive a share of what you have, should we not have even more [right to it]? Yet we did not make use of this right, but instead we put up with whatever we had to so we would not become a hindrance to [the spread of] the good news [about Christ].

But I have not availed myself of any of these rights. And I am not writing this so that it would be done in my case, for I would rather die than have anyone make my boast [i.e., of preaching without financial support] an empty one.

[But] I do not have anything to boast about if I preach the good news because I am compelled to do it. For it would be too bad for me if I did not preach the good news.

For if I preached because [I personally decided] I wanted to, I could claim a reward. But if I did not preach from a personal decision to do so, then it would be because I was entrusted with the task [by God].

I am speaking to you as [I would] to sensible people, [so] judge for yourselves what I am saying.

Eat whatever is sold in the [public] meat markets, without asking any questions [about it] for [your] conscience' sake [i.e., do not inquire about the previous use of the food you buy, because you might discover something about it that would make you feel guilty of wrongdoing if you ate it].

that is, for the sake of the other person's conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom [to eat what I want] be judged [as wrong] by another person's conscience? [Note: The questions in this and the following verse may mean, "it is not worth eating questionable things, if doing so would bring criticism from a weak brother"].

For it is to be expected [i.e., it is inevitable] that there would be dissensions among you, so that those who are approved [by God] can become known among you.

But if we [had] examined ourselves [properly], we would not be [i.e., not have been] judged [i.e., with sickness and death. See verse 30].

so that there would not be any division in the body [Note: Paul here leaves the analogy of the physical body and makes application to the spiritual body, the church], but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

When I was a child I spoke, thought and reasoned like a child. But now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. [Note: Paul uses an analogy to illustrate that the church made use of the supernatural gifts in its infancy, but that these would no longer be needed when it matured].

Now I would like all of you to speak in languages [supernaturally], but I would rather have you prophecy. For the person who prophesies is more important [i.e., to the church] than those who speak in languages [supernaturally], unless that person interprets [the languages], so the church can be built up [spiritually].

However, in the assembly I would rather speak five words with my understanding, so that I can instruct other people also, than to speak ten thousand words in a language [that people do not understand].

But if there is no interpreter present [at the meeting], the person [i.e., with the ability to speak a language supernaturally] should remain quiet in the assembly. [Note: This implies that the speaker would know before he begins speaking whether or not an interpreter is present]. [In that case], he should speak [only] to himself and to God. [See verse 2].

And because of this confidence [i.e., that you people have such a favorable opinion of me], I had determined to visit you first [i.e., before going to Macedonia. See I Cor. 16:5-7], so that you could have an additional blessing. [Note: The "blessing" here would be Paul getting to minister to them both before and after visiting Macedonia].

For the god of this world [i.e., Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they would not see the light of the Gospel of the splendor of Christ, who is the image of God.

We are encouraged, I say, and would rather be away from our body and at home with the Lord.

[We try] not to place an obstacle in anyone's way [i.e., to keep them from accepting the Gospel message], so that our ministry would not be blamed.

I am not saying this to condemn you, for [as] I said before, you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.

But what I am doing, I will continue to do, so that I can cut off the opportunity from those who want an occasion [to receive financial support for themselves because of my example of receiving it]. They want to boast [that they are preaching] on the same terms as I do. [Note: Paul's argument seems to be that one reason for his foregoing financial support was so those "super apostles" in Corinth (see verse 5) would not be able to use his example to wrongfully exact financial support from the church].

What I am saying in this boastful [show of] confidence is not what the Lord would [say], but is [just plain] "foolishness."

I know a man in [fellowship with] Christ who, fourteen years ago, was taken [literally, "snatched"] up to the third heaven. [Note: The first heaven would be where birds fly; the second where the stars are; and the third where God is]. (I do not know whether he was in his physical body or whether it was an "out-of-the-body" experience, but God knows). [Note: Paul is obviously telling about a personal experience. See verse 7].

However, if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will hold back, so that no one will think more of me than what he sees or hears from me.

But, so that I would not become too conceited over the tremendous revelations [I received], a "thorn in the flesh" was given to me as a messenger from Satan to torment me. [Note: This "thorn" was probably some physical handicap, possibly defective eyesight. See Gal. 4:14-15; 6:11].

I pled with the Lord about this matter three times, that He would remove this problem from me.

For am I seeking [to gain] the favor of men or of God? Or, am I striving to please people [by what I do]? If I were still [trying] to please people, I would not be a [true] servant of Christ.

For I would like to clarify for you, brothers, the situation regarding the Gospel that I have preached: It did not originate from man.

[It was] in response to [a divine] revelation that I went [there] and explained to them [I. e., the apostles and elders] the Gospel [message] that I had been preaching among the Gentiles. Then [later on I presented it] privately before those who were highly regarded [i.e., the three apostles, verse 9] so [they would have verification that] my running [i.e., ministry] had not been, nor was now, in vain.

For, before certain [leaders] came from James [i.e., Jesus' brother, a leader of the Jerusalem church, See Acts 12:17; 15:13-22], he had eaten [a social meal] with some Gentiles. But when these men came, he abruptly discontinued this practice out of fear of the circumcised ones [i.e., out of concern for what the Jews would think of him].

For if I try to build up again what I had already destroyed [i.e., by returning to depend on compliance with the law of Moses to become right with God, after having rejected this system by trusting in Christ to save me], I would certainly be guilty of sin.

The only thing I would like to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Holy Spirit [into your lives] by [meeting the requirements of] the law of Moses or by hearing [and obeying the message] of faith [in Christ]?

And, predicting that God would consider the Gentiles right with Him by [their] faith, the Scriptures previously recorded [this promise of] the Gospel to Abraham by saying [Gen. 12:3], "All nations will receive a blessing through your descendant [i.e., Jesus]."

For if the inheritance [of never ending life] can be obtained by [obeying the requirements of] the law of Moses, it would not come from the promise [of God]; but God provided [this inheritance] for Abraham according to [His] promise.

What then is [the benefit of] the law of Moses? It was introduced [as part of God's revelation] in order to define what sin was, until the seed [i.e., Jesus] would come, to whom the promise [of never ending life] was made. The law of Moses was ordained through [the medium of] angels and [delivered] through the hand of an intermediary [i.e., Moses].

Now where are those good feelings you had for me? For I can [honestly] testify that [at one time] you would have even gouged out your eyes and given them to me [for sight] if that had been possible.

But I would like to be present with you and change the tone [of my remarks], because I am very distressed over your condition.

But, brothers, if I were still preaching [that a person had] to be circumcised, why am I being persecuted? [Note: Paul's argument seems to be "I must not be preaching circumcision since I am being persecuted by those who believe in it"]. [If I preached that a person had to be circumcised] then my preaching that Christ died on the cross would not be such an offense [to those who believe in it].

I wish that those who are causing such a problem over wanting people to be circumcised would just mutilate themselves [while they are at it!].

But the last thing I want to do is brag [about such things]. For [if I had any bragging to do at all], it would be about [salvation through] the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is through Him that this [sinful] world has been crucified [i.e., died] as far as I am concerned and I have been crucified [i.e., died] as far as it is concerned.

so that we would praise His glorious, unearned favor, which was freely given to us through the One whom God loved [i.e., Christ].

[I pray] that, according to God's glorious abundance, He would empower you to become [spiritually] strong through His Holy Spirit in your inner person,

Wives, you should submit to your own husbands, as you would to the Lord.

Slaves, you should obey those who are your earthly masters, out of reverence and eagerness to please them, with a sincere heart, as you would [obey] Christ.

Render your service wholeheartedly, as you would to the Lord, and not [just] to people,

For life to me is Christ, and if I die, it would be gain.

So, I am in a dilemma between the two choices. [On the one hand] I have the desire to depart [from this life] and be with Christ [in heaven], which would be far better.

And indeed, he was [so] sick that he almost died, but God had pity on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow on top of another.

You fathers [Note: By implication, this would include both parents] should not stir up your children [i.e., irritate or exasperate them], so that they do not become discouraged.

For you brothers remember how we labored and toiled, working hard night and day, so that we would not burden any of you [while] we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.

so that no one would be shaken by [having to experience] these difficult times. [See 2:14]. For you yourselves know that we are destined to have such experiences.

And this is the reason that God sends them a strong delusion [to influence them]: It is so that they would believe the lie,

in order that all those who have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in wrongdoing, would be condemned.

And yet do not consider him to be an enemy, but warn him as [you would] a [Christian] brother.

However, even though I was the worst, I obtained mercy so that the patience of Jesus Christ could be shown toward the worst [of sinners] as an example for those people who would later believe in Him in order to [receive] never ending life.

Among these people are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered over to Satan [Note: This probably refers to withdrawing fellowship from them. See I Cor. 5:1-5], so that they would learn not to speak against God [anymore].

Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as [you would to] your father. [Appeal to] the younger men as [you would to] your brothers;

[to] older women as [you would to] mothers; [to] the younger women as [you would to] your sisters, in a [morally] pure way.

Do not be in a hurry to lay hands on anyone [i.e., to appoint them to office. See 4:14], and do not participate in the sins of other people. [Note: If Timothy failed to carefully determine the qualifications of a prospective elder before appointing him, it would make him partially responsible for any wrongdoing by that elder]. Keep yourself pure [i.e., of involvement in anyone's sins].

But you should continue [to believe and practice] what you have learned and been convinced of, knowing those from whom you learned it. [Note: These persons would include Lois and Eunice (See 1:5), as well as Paul himself].

But I did not want to do anything without your permission, so that your goodness [of heart] would not be shown out of a feeling of obligation, but out of willingness.