the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
King James Version
Acts 28:15
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalDevotionals:
- DailyParallel Translations
The believers there had heard we were coming and came out to meet us. The sight of the cowboys riding and waving filled Paul with thanks to God.
And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
And the brothers, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
And the brothers, when they had news of us, came out from town as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns to have a meeting with us: and Paul, seeing them, gave praise to God and took heart.
And thence the brethren, having heard about us, came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Tres Tabernae, whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.
And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Now the believers from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
From there the brothers, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
And the brethren having heard of us, came out thence to meet us, some as far as Appii Forum, and others to the Three Taverns, whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.
Meanwhile the brethren there, hearing of our movements, came as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Huts to meet us; and when Paul saw them he thanked God and felt encouraged.
And from thence, when the brethren heard of vs, they came to meet vs as farre as Appii forum, and the three Tauernes: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and tooke courage.
And the brothers from there hearing about us, they came out to meet us, as far as the marketplace of Appius, and Three Taverns; whom Paul seeing, thanking God, he took courage.
And from thence whan the brethren herde of vs, they came forth to mete vs to Apiforum and to the Thre tauerns. Whan Paul sawe them, he thaked God, and waxed bolde.
the brethren there having had news of us, came as far as Appiiforum, and the Three inns to meet us: whom when Paul saw, he gave thanks to God, and was greatly encourag'd.
Once everyone was accounted for and we realized we had all made it, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold and we were already soaked to the bone, but they built a huge bonfire and gathered us around it. Paul pitched in and helped. He had gathered up a bundle of sticks, but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from its torpor by the heat, struck his hand and held on. Seeing the snake hanging from Paul's hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was a murderer getting his just deserts. Paul shook the snake off into the fire, none the worse for wear. They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn't going to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god! The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius's father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man's room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed. We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that had wintered there in the harbor prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: "the Heavenly Twins." We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week. And then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns—emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him. Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together for a meeting at his house. He said, "The Jews in Jerusalem arrested me on trumped-up charges, and I was taken into custody by the Romans. I assure you that I did absolutely nothing against Jewish laws or Jewish customs. After the Romans investigated the charges and found there was nothing to them, they wanted to set me free, but the Jews objected so fiercely that I was forced to appeal to Caesar. I did this not to accuse them of any wrongdoing or to get our people in trouble with Rome. We've had enough trouble through the years that way. I did it for Israel. I asked you to come and listen to me today to make it clear that I'm on Israel's side, not against her. I'm a hostage here for hope, not doom." They said, "Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it." They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him. Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: "I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet: Go to this people and tell them this: "You're going to listen with your ears, but you won't hear a word; You're going to stare with your eyes, but you won't see a thing. These people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them." "You've had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they're going to receive it with open arms!" Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.
And the brothers and sisters, having heard news about us, came from as far away as the Forum of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
And the brethren there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Ap'pius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them Paul thanked God and took courage.
And from thence when ye brethren hearde of vs they came agaynst vs to Apiphorum and to ye thre taverns. When Paul sawe the he thanked God and wexed bolde.
And from there the brothers, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
And from thence when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii-forum, and the Three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
and thence, the brethren having heard the things concerning us, came forth to meet us, unto Appii Forum, and Three Taverns -- whom Paul having seen, having given thanks to God, took courage.
The believers in Rome heard that we were there and came out as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.
The brothers from there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When he saw them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
The brothers there had heard about us and traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and gave thanks to God.
Some of the followers in Rome heard about us and came to meet us at the Market of Appius and at the Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
The brothers there had heard about us and came as far as Appian Market and Three Inns to meet us. When Sha'ul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
And from thence, when the brethren heard of vs, they came to meete vs at the Market of Appius, and at the Three tauernes, whom when Paul sawe, he thanked God, and waxed bolde.
When the brethren there heard of us, they came out to meet us as far as the street which is called Ap''pi-i-fo''rum and The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God, and was greatly encouraged.
From there the brothers, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Sha'ul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
The brothers there heard about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and felt encouraged.
And when the brethren who were there heard, they came forth to meet us unto the street that is called Apios Foros, and unto the Three Taverns. And when Paulos saw them he thanked Aloha, and was strengthened.
And the brethren there, hearing [fn] , came out to meet us as far as the village called Appii Forum, and as far as the Three Taverns. And when Paul saw them, he gave thanks to God, and was encouraged.
The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.
When the Christians heard of our coming, they came to meet us. They came as far as the town of Appius and to a place to stay called the Three Stores. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius, and The Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
And, when from thence the brethren heard the tidings concerning us, they came to meet us, as far as The Market of Appius and the Three Taverns - seeing whom, Paul thanked God, and took courage.
And from thence, when the brethren had heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. Whom when Paul saw, he gave thanks to God and took courage.
And from there the brothers, when they heard the news about us, came to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. When he saw them, Paul gave thanks to God and took courage.
And from thence, when the brethren hearde of vs, they came to meete vs at Appii forum, and at the three tauernes. When Paul sawe the, he thanked God, and waxed bolde.
The brothers and sisters in Rome heard about us and came out to meet us at the Market of Appius and at the Three Inns. When Paul saw these believers, he thanked God and felt encouraged.
And from there the brothers and sisters, when they heard about us, came as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
The believers in Rome heard about us and came as far as the towns of Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was greatly encouraged.
And fro thennus whanne britheren hadden herd, thei camen to vs to the cheping of Appius, and to the Thre tauernes.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
when: Acts 10:25, Acts 21:5, Exodus 4:14, John 12:13, Romans 15:24, Galatians 4:14, Hebrews 13:3, 3 John 1:6-8
Appii forum: Appii Forum, now Borgo Longo, was an ancient city of the Volsci, fifty miles s of Rome.
The three taverns: The Three Taverns was a place in the Appian Way, thirty miles from Rome.
he thanked: Joshua 1:6, Joshua 1:7, Joshua 1:9, 1 Samuel 30:6, Psalms 27:14, 1 Corinthians 12:21, 1 Corinthians 12:22, 2 Corinthians 2:14, 2 Corinthians 7:5-7, 1 Thessalonians 3:7
Reciprocal: Exodus 18:7 - went Numbers 22:36 - went 2 Chronicles 15:8 - took courage Proverbs 27:9 - so John 11:20 - as soon Acts 2:10 - strangers Acts 15:3 - brought Romans 6:17 - But Romans 15:32 - I may
Cross-References
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan;
And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;
And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And from thence,.... That is, from Rome, whither they were going:
when the brethren heard of us; when the Christians at Rome heard that the apostle and his friends were landed at Puteoli, and were on their journey to Rome: these were the members of the church at Rome; for there was a church state here before this time. The apostle had before this written a letter to them, called the Epistle to the Romans, in which he treats them as a church. The Papists say that the Apostle Peter was the first bishop of it, and pretend an uninterrupted succession from him; though it is questionable whether he ever was at Rome; and if he was, it is not probable that he should take upon him the care of a single church, which was not consistent with his office as an apostle: in the "first" century, the bishops or pastors of this church were as follow; after the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, Eusebius l says, Linus was the first bishop of it, the same that is mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21 and according to the same writer m, Anencletus succeeded him, and then Clement, a fellow labourer of the Apostle Paul's, Philippians 4:3; who wrote two epistles to the Corinthians, which are still extant; though Eusebius n, not consistent with himself, makes Clement in another place to succeed Linus; and some make Clement even to be before him; and some place one Cletus before Anencletus and him: such an uncertainty is there, and such a puzzle attends the first account of this uninterrupted succession; and which seems designed in Providence to bring it into contempt: in the "second" century, Euarestus succeeded Clement; and then followed him Alexander, Sixtus, or Xystus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, Soter, Eleutherius, and Victor: in the "third" century, Victor was succeeded by Zephyrinus; and after him were Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Anterus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephanus, Sixtus, or Xystus II, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, and Gaius: in the "fourth" century, Marcellinus succeeded Gaius; who was followed by Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Julius, Liberius, Felix II, Damasus, and Siricius o; and further than this age, it is not worth while to follow them; the man of sin began to grow apace, and in a century or two afterwards, proclaimed himself universal bishop:
they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns; these were both of them towns that lay in the Appian way to Rome; the former of these Horace p makes mention of, in the account of his journey from Rome to Brundusium; first he says, he came to Aricia, or Rizza, which is about 160 furlongs, or 21 miles from Rome, and from thence to Appii Forum: that Appii Forum was further from Rome than the Three Taverns, appears from what Cicero says q, who dates his letter to Atticus from Appii Forum, at four o'clock, and tells him, that be had sent him another a little before from "Tres Tabernae", or the Three Taverns; and indeed, Appii Forum was one and fifty miles from Rome, and the Three Taverns but three and thirty: so that the sense must be, that some of the brethren from Rome came as far as the Three Taverns, and others as far as Appii Forum; which, as before observed, were two towns upon the road: hence the former of these was not a statue of Appius, near the city of Rome, as some have r said; nor a market in the city itself, as says Jerom s, or a writer under his name; whose words are, Appii Forum is the name of a market at Rome, from Appius, formerly a consul, and from whom the Appian way had its name: but this was a town at some distance; there were several towns in Italy of a like appellation; as Julii Forum, Cornelii Forum, now Imola, Livii Forum, now Forli: Pliny t makes mention of an Appii Forum; and there was a town in Calabria, called Taberna: and as the one was not a mere market place, so the other does not design three houses for public entertainment; for the words should not be translated "three taverns", nor indeed translated at all; nor are they by Luke, who retains the Latin name, as the name of a place; and here it was that Severus, the Roman emperor, was killed by Herculius Maximianus u; and this, in Constantine's time, was the seat of a bishop; for among the bishops assembled on account of Donatus, mention is made of one "Felix a Tribus Tabernis" w, or Felix bishop of Tres Tabernae, the same place we call "the Three Taverns":
whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage; that is, when he saw the brethren that came to meet him, he gave thanks to God for the sight of them, which he had so much desired; and he took heart and courage, and went on cheerfully, and in high spirits, towards Rome; in hope of seeing the rest, and believing that God had some work for him to do there.
l Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 2. m Ib. c. 13. n Ib. c. 4. 15. o Magdeburg. Eccl. Hist. cent. 2. c. 10. p. 165, &c. cent. 3. c. 10. 193, &c. cent. 4. c. 10. p. 736, &c. p Sermonum, l. 1. Satyr 5. q Ad Atticum, l. 2. ep. 11. r Isidor. Pelusiot. Ep. l. 1. ep. 337. s De locis Hebraicis, fol. 95. K. t Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 6. u Aurel. Victor. Epitome, p. 346. w Optat. de Schism Donat. l. 1. p. 26.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And from thence - From Puteoli.
When the brethren heard of us - The Christians who wore at Rome.
As far as the Appii Forum - This was a city about 56 miles from Rome. The remains of an ancient city are still seen there. It is on the borders of the Pontine Marshes. The city was built on the celebrated Appian Way, or the road from Rome to Capua. The road was made by Appius Claudius, and probably the city was founded by him also. It was called the forum or market-place of Appius, because it was a convenient place for travelers on the Appian Way to stop for purposes of refreshment. It was also a famous resort for peddlers and merchants. See Horace, book i. Sat. 5, 3.
And the Three Taverns - This place was about 8 or 10 miles nearer Rome than the Appii Forum (Cicero, a.d. Art., ii. 10). It undoubtedly received its name because it was distinguished as a place of refreshment on the Appian Way. Probably the greater part of the company of Christians remained at this place while the remainder went forward to meet Paul, and to attend him on his way. The Christians at Rome had doubtless heard much of Paul. His Epistle to them had been written about the year of our Lord 57 a.d., or at least five years before this time. The interest which the Roman Christians felt in the apostle was thus manifested by their coming so far to meet him, though he was a prisoner.
He thanked God - He had long ardently desired to see the Christians of Rome, Romans 1:9-11; Romans 15:23, Romans 15:32. He was now grateful to God that the object of his long desire was at least granted, and that he was permitted to see them, though in bonds.
And took courage - From their society and counsel. The presence and counsel of Christian brethren is often of inestimable value in encouraging and strengthening us in the toils and trials of life.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Acts 28:15. When the brethren heard of us — By whom the Gospel was planted at Rome is not known: it does not appear that any apostle was employed in this work. It was probably carried thither by some of those who were converted to God at the day of pentecost; for there were then at Jerusalem, not only devout men, proselytes to the Jewish religion, from every nation under heaven, Acts 2:5, but there were strangers of Rome also, Acts 2:10. And it in most reasonable to believe, as we know of no other origin, that it was by these Christianity was planted at Rome.
As far as Appii Forum — About 52 miles from Rome; a long way to come on purpose to meet the apostle! The Appii Forum, or Market of Appius, was a town on the Appian way, a road paved from Rome to Campania, by the consul Appius Claudius. It was near the sea, and was a famous resort for sailors, peddlers, c. Horace, lib. i. Satyr. 5, ver. 3, mentions this place on his journey from Rome to Brundusium:-
____________________________Inde FORUM APPI
Differtum nautis, cauponibus atgue malignis.
"To Forum Appii thence we steer, a place
Stuff'd with rank boatmen, and with vintners base." This town is now called Caesarilla de S. Maria.
And the Three Taverns — This was another place on the same road, and about 33 miles from Rome. Some of the Roman Christians had come as far as Appii Forum: others, to the Three Taverns. Bp. Pearce remarks, there are some ruins in that place which are now called Tre Taverne and this place Cicero mentions in his epistles to Atticus, lib. ii. 11. Ab Appi Foro hora quarta: dederam aliam paulo ante in Tribus Tabernis. "Dated at ten in the morning, from Appii Forum. I sent off another (epistle) a little before, from the Three Taverns."
Zosimus, lib. 2, mentions τρια καπηλεια, the three taverns, or victualling houses, where the Emperor Severus was strangled by the treason of Maximinus Herculeus, and his son Maxentius. See Lightfoot.
The word taberna, from trabs, a beam, signifies any building formed of timber; such as those we call booths, sheds, c., which are formed of beams, planks, boards, and the like and therefore me may consider it as implying, either a temporary residence, or some mean building, such as a cottage, c. And in this sense Horace evidently uses it, Carm. lib. i. Od. iv. ver. 13:-
Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas
Regumque turres.
"With equal pace, impartial Fate
Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate."
FRANCIS.
This place, at first, was probably a place for booths or sheds, three of which were remarkable other houses became associated with them in process of time, and the whole place denominated Tres Tabernae, from the three first remarkable booths set up there. It appears to have been a large town in the fourth century, as Optatus mentions Felix a Tribus Tabernis, Felix of the Three Taverns, as one of the Christian bishops.
Thanked God, and took courage. — He had longed to see Rome; (see Romans 1:9-15;) and, finding himself brought through so many calamities, and now so near the place that he was met by a part of that Church to which, some years before, he had written an epistle, he gave thanks to God, who had preserved him, and took fresh courage, in the prospect of bearing there a testimony for his Lord and Master.
