Acts 28:21
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And they said to him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning you, neither any of the brothers that came showed or spoke any harm of you.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And they said to him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning you, neither any of the brothers that came showed or spoke any harm of you.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And they said unto him, We neither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm of thee.
Basic English Translation (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's Revision
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.
World English Bible
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.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And they said unto him, We neither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm of thee.
Clarke's Acts 28:21 Bible Commentary
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.
Barnes's Acts 28:21 Bible Commentary
We neither received letters ... - 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, and Agrippa; and as they had not succeeded in procuring his condemnation before them, they saw no prospect of doing it at Rome, and resolved, therefore, not to press the prosecution any further.
Neither any of the brethren that came - Any of the Jews. There was a very constant contact 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.
Wesley's Acts 28:21 Bible Commentary
28:21 We have neither received letters concerning thee - There must have been a peculiar providence in this, nor has any of the brethren - The Jews, related - Professedly, in a set discourse, or spoke - Occasionally, in conversation, any evil of thee - How must the bridle then have been in their mouth!