Acts 22:2

2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:

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Acts 22:2 in Other Translations

KJV

2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)

ESV

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:

NLT

2 When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.

MSG

2 When they heard him speaking Hebrew, they grew even quieter. No one wanted to miss a word of this.

CSB

2 When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter.

Acts 22:2 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 22:2

And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to
them (See Gill on Acts 21:40).

they kept the more silence;
it being their mother tongue, and which they best understood; and which the captain and the Roman soldiers might not so well under stand; and chiefly because the Hellenistic language was not so agreeable to them, nor the Hellenistic Jews, who spoke the Greek language, and used the Greek version of the Bible; and such an one they took Paul to be, besides his being a Christian; wherefore when they heard him speak in the Hebrew tongue, it conciliated their minds more to him, at least engaged their attention the more to what he was about to say:

and he saith;
the Syriac and Ethiopic versions add, "to them", as follows.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Acts 22:2 In-Context

1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:

3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,

5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

Cross References 1

1. Acts 21:40; S John 5:2