Acts 23:29 — ExegesisTAB

The sentence is a relative clause introduced by hon {ὃν | hón} “whom,” referring back to the man under discussion in the larger context. The main verbal idea is carried by heurōn {εὗρον | heûron} “I found,” an aorist indicative describing the speaker’s completed judicial assessment. The participle enkaloumenon {ἐγκαλούμενον | enkaloúmenon} “being accused” agrees with hon in case, number, and gender, forming an object-complement structure “whom I found (as) being accused.” The prepositional phrase peri zētēmatōn tou nomou autōn {περὶ ζητημάτων τοῦ νόμου αὐτῶν | perì zētēmatōn tou nómou autôn} specifies the sphere of the accusations, “concerning questions of their law,” with the genitive tou nomou autōn marking the law as belonging to “them” and highlighting its distinctly Jewish character. The following unit mēden de axion thanatou ē desmōn echonta enklēma {μηδὲν δὲ ἄξιον θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἔχοντα ἔγκλημα | mēdén de áxion thanátou ē desmōn échonta éngklēma} is coordinated by de “but,” contrasting the religious nature of the dispute with the absence of a serious criminal matter. Here echonta {ἔχοντα | échonta} “having” is another participle agreeing with hon, with enklēma {ἔγκλημα | éngklēma} “charge” as its object; mēden “nothing” modifies enklēma, and axion “worthy” is further qualified by the genitives thanatou “of death” and desmōn “of bonds,” genitives of penalty. The whole structure asserts that, although there are accusations about religious-legal questions, there is no accusation that justifies the penalties of death or imprisonment. The English renderings preserve this contrast by separating the religious “questions about their law” from the legal conclusion “no charge worthy of death or imprisonment,” mirroring the Greek judicial tone and hierarchy of penalties.